Oh My Veela!
by Charmed Sweetly
Summary: Warning: Veelas are strong, passionate and possessive. Don't get in the way. DMHG
1. I

_**Disclaimer - The author of the story claims no rights to any copyrighted material including the Harry Potter franchise. All rights belong to their respective owners.**_

**A/N: **Hello! This is a Veela!Draco story with Hermione because I feel like there are just too few of these.

T for language but rating may change.

Happy Reading!

.

**Chapter 1: What am I?**

Draco Lucius Malfoy was lying on his four-poster bed trying to get some sleep when the sun decided to shine down and burn the pale boy's face. He grumbled as he opened his eyes and stared out his French doors leading to the balcony of his room. The boy narrowed his eyes angrily at the bright and shiny yellow ball of painfully annoying cheerfulness. '_Stupid bloody sun! Why doesn't it take a hint that it's not wanted and burn out already?'_

The blonde boy tried in vain to get back to sleep. He closed his silver eyes after he gave the bright orb a 'Just-you-wait-until-I-summon-enough-will-power-to-grab-my-wand-and-move to-cast-a-spell-of-perpetual-bloody-darkness-and-we'll-just-see-if-you're-cheerful-than,-you-arse' glare.

It just didn't seem to scare his arch nemesis of that morning as it wouldn't take the hint and self-destruct. The light continued to shine down on his face and one of the dragons of Malfoy Manor, seemingly in an agitated state that morning, started roaring loudly. The birds outside his window also thought to serenade him with their chirping while the house elves seemed to be apparating here and there with their wretched 'Pop' noises.

His temper snapped and he bolted up in bed, ready to do some extreme harm to anyone who dared to disrupt his slumber. Glaring at the window, he called out, "I'm up you cheerfully sadistic bastards! Are you happy now, you blood gits?"

To add to the boy's increasingly foul mood, a stray beam of sunlight hit him in the eye and he heard a wind whistle through the trees on the grounds. It sounded far too condescending. Far too smug, really.

Draco growled, no matter how alike he was acting to the redheaded Weasel, and balled his hands into fists. "I'll hex you so bad you fu-"

He was so upset that he hadn't heard the door upon.

"Draco, darling, why are you threatening the sun?" An amused voice asked from the doorway of his chambers.

He turned his head to the person that spoke. There stood Narcissa Black Malfoy, already dressed and groomed for the day. She looked aristocratic and noble in pale blue dress robes, her blonde hair hanging loosely down her shoulders.

Draco nodded to her and felt some of his frustration drain away. "Good morning, Mother. I trust you're feeling well this morning."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm wonderful this morning, but it seems that you, my dearest Draco, are not."

"Yes well, I woke up this morning with that dreadful light burning my face and it had the nerve to be smug about getting me up and I know that it also made some of the creatures of the Manor join in the conspiracy as well. They are all against me Mother and they banded together to not let me have my sleep," Draco huffed, making Narcissa laugh.

Looking at him at the moment reminded her of his 6 year old version of himself. The pout on his face and the wrinkle creasing between his brows, the upset in his stormy grey eyes and the arms crossed over his chest brought back memories of the coddled and spoilt child, angry that things weren't going his way. His voice may have deepened and his face may have matured, but this hadn't changed in the least.

"Mother, stop laughing at me." Draco sighed. "It's bad enough that everyone else is against me today, but not you too."

She smiled at him softly. "You, Draco, are just far too dramatic at times."

"Wonderful of you to say, Mum." Draco muttered as he rolled his eyes and fell back into his bed, trying to get some much needed sleep.

"I thought you were up now," Narcissa said amused as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

He turned over to her and replied, "Mum, you were in Slytherin so you should know that anyone from Slytherin lies."

"Darling, get up." She frowned when he didn't make a move of awakening. "Draco Lucius Black Malfoy, I have something of importance to tell you so you will get up, prepare yourself for the day and meet me in the Library."

With that said, Narcissa strode out of the room, as regal as any Queen.

"Argh!" He growled.

He lay on his bed for a few minutes just staring up. It was pointless trying to get back to sleep now since many unseen beings were making sure he was awake and forcing him out of bed to start his day. Even his mother was going along with their plot as well, he grumbled.

Knowing that he shouldn't keep his mother waiting since she'd become irritated and come back upstairs, twist his ear and snap angrily, Draco got out of bed and grumpily got ready for the day.

.

After 45 minutes of waiting, Draco met his mother in the Library. She was sitting on a seat in front of a large open window, exposed to the warmth of the Autumn sun. Narcissa turned and smiled at him, montioning for the blonde boy to sit beside her.

He took the offered seat and stared out the window where she was staring before turning to her and asking, "What is this about mother?"

"Draco, I know you have always been so proud of your heritage," Narcissa began. "You should be of course. You come from a long line of strong and powerful witches and wizards."

"Yes mother but where is this going?" Draco asked.

"Darling, the war is over now and your father is gone. I've never really agreed with your father's views of 'proper' blood and what and who you should marry." She admitted. "I just didn't have the courage to tell him."

There was silence in the library for a while before her son broke it. "It's fine mother. Father was always rather intimidating."

"I also know that he forced you and molded you into believing his ideals." Narcissa put her hand on his shoulder. "Do you believe them, Draco?"

He sighed. "No, not after father took me to a Death Eater meeting."

Draco closed his eyes as shots of his father and other Death Eaters torturing an innocent muggle family for hours than slaughtering them showed in his mind and made him dizzy.

Narcissa sighed in relief. "That's wonderful. You aren't as narrowminded as some people you've been acquainted with over the years."

"Mother, father is gone now. As much as I loved you telling me this and me getting this out in the open, was there something more you would like to tell me or was this it?"

"There's more Draco. It is about your blood line though." She sighed. "I've been watching you as you grew up, Draco. Have you seen any changes, any differences in yourself than some of the boys in your class?"

He looked shocked at the question but answered it anyway. "Well I am smarter than them. I'm also richer than them and far better looking. Especially compared to Weasel. That ghastly redhair and that face full of those blasted freckles." He shuddered at the thought of himself having those freckles on his face.

His mother laughed. "Draco, not those differences. Well, maybe some of them."

"Mother, why don't you tell me what you have to tell me and than we will discuss this and I might have some clue with how to answer your questions, hm?"

Narcissa looked at her son, her blue eyes shining. "Draco, you're a Veela."

Well, he couldn't have been more floored than he was at that. He opened and closed his jaws in an undignified manner but could have cared less. He didn't know what to say, he really didn't. He'd have been less surprised if his father had disinherited him for not becoming a Death Eater.

The blonde haired female stared at him just waiting for the explosion when her son's sack jaw started working again. She didn't have to wait long though.

"I'm a what?" Draco snapped heatedly.

"You're a Veela darling. Well, not full. Part actually. You're a pureblood but part of your blood, half of it, is Veela. It comes from both my side of the family, as well as your father's."

"And neither of you could have informed me of this _earlier_ in my life?" He asked her angrily. "Did you not think that maybe I'd want to know this?"

She placed one of her hands on top of his and it took all he could to not pull it away from her in rage. "Draco, I had to make sure. I didn't want you to know about this until I was positive that the Veela blood in you was actually active. Me and your father both have the blood but it was dorminant in us."

"Lucky you than." He muttered.

"I know you're going to need some time to get used to this but there is more than just having Veela blood." She continued. "You are of age now Draco. You turned 17 in June and since than it has only confirmed my belief that your Veela blood is active."

"How could you confirm anything, mother?" He asked her, looking into her eyes with his steely grey ones. "I mean, you may have observed me but I think I would know if there were changes going on with my own body."

Narcissa smiled. "You weren't looking out for any signs, darling, so you wouldn't have noticed anything at all."

"Well than what changes are there?"

"For starters you will become taller, which happens to everyone, I know but their hair does not grow 4 inches every month." Narcissa smiled as Draco looked like he was in thought, his hands running through his ungelled fair hair. "You've also become much more good looking." When he started to open his mouth, she continued before he could say a word. "I know you've always been good looking, darling, but far more so. Once your blood has fully awoken, than you will be absolutely gorgeous. Your sense of smell will be better as well and so will your eye sight."

Draco looked at her for a moment before he smiled gently at his mother. "I think I'm starting to like this mother."

"There is a catch though."

He sighed. Nothing ever came that good without a price. "What's that?"

"You have to find your mate, Draco."

"My what?"

"Your mate. The person that you are going to spend the rest of your life with. A Veela has a mate. A person they are bound to in ways that are hard to explain. When they find their mate, they grow possessive and protective of them. They mark their mate to show that that person is taken by them, almost like marking their territory."

"So what you're saying is I have to find this person?"

"Yes. A Veela is only as happy as their mate is. If the Veela has not found their mate before their 18th birthday than the Veela dies of heartbreak and loneliness. If the Veela marks their mate before their 18th birthday, they live."

"Mother, you are asking for too much! I'm only 17! Far too young for any sort of thing like that!" Draco said. He didn't want to be attached to anyone. "Mate! No."

Narcissa looked at him. "Draco, most Veela have already found their mate at your age. The easiest way is to think back to the age of when the blood started awakening. Something significant happened in that year with their mate that triggered the blood."

"I don't know when my blood woke up, mother!" He snapped, his eyes darkening to a shade of dark charcoal; another Veela trait he would learn of later. "Like you said, I bloody well wasn't paying attention to any signs!"

She took this all in stride. Normally she wouldn't have her son yelling at her but he was upset and under these circumstances, she wasn't going to blame him for being mad. "Well, I have, darling. Your blood awoke some time around your third year while you were at Hogwarts. You were different after that during the summer and onward."

"…Third year, mother?"

"Yes."

Draco looked at her and sighed. "Mother, I…I just need to think right now. It's just too much."

Narcissa stood from where she sat and nodded. "I understand that, darling. There are books about Veela's in the library. You may read about it and I'll send a house elf to bring you some brunch."

"Thanks, mum." He said softly and she gave him a small smile before walking out of the Library and closing the doors behind her.

Draco sighed and looked around the large library, bigger than the Hogwarts collection, even. How the hell was he going to find a few books in this place? It was bloody huge!

.

A half hour later, Draco sat at a table in the library with a stack of books. He opened the first one while he ate a scone that one of the house elves had put on the tray for his breakfast.

'_Veelas are almost like humans except with interesting abilities and heightened senses. They are speculated to have originated in Bulgaria but have spread across Europe mainly, though there are very few of them._

_There are certain traits to recognize a Veela. Their hair grows longer faster and they are shockingly fast. When a Veela feels threatened, angry, possessive or aroused, their eyes turn into a dark colour._

_All of their senses are heightened. Such things like smell, while humans can only smell aroma, Veelas smell emotion as well. They hear even the softest murmurs of someone they are intent on listening to, even if they are far away since the Veela is tuned into listening for their voice and it is what they are seeking. Viewing things at long distance isn't hard for a Veela either.'_

Draco paused to take a sip of his pumpkin juice. He smirked at the thought of heightened hearing and sight. _'Catching the snitch will be extremely easy this year.'_ He thought.

He bit into more of his scone before reading once again.

'_A Veela's taste buds are more attuned. Some great chefs from ages past have been known to have Veela blood. Veelas are prone to feeling sensitive to touch, especially from their mate._

_The most important thing to a Veela though is their mate. A Veela usually finds their mate at a young age. When their blood awakens, it is usually during the year that something significant changed between their mate. A Veela mate is their perfect match; in human terms, it is their soul mate, a person they have a connection and bond with._

_There are 5 steps of actual joining. The first is the awakening of the dormant Veela blood and the second is the courtship. After the courtship, is the 3rd step which is the marking. The mark is temporary until the last stage and is usually located in the neck on a sensitive part of skin. 4th is the acceptance in which the mate must accept their mate and lastly is the joining in which they engage in sexual intercourse and the Veela mate gets their permanent mark._

_A Veela is only as happy as their mate, which is why the Veela goes to great lengths to ensure that their love is happy.'_

"Sounds like the Veela is more whipped than anything," Draco muttered but continued reading.

'_They will try to ensure that their love is happy, healthy, and protected. When their mate is injured or ill, they become far more protective then normal, only letting family members and females close. If their mate is threatened, a Veela is known to be irrational or angry and will do anything to keep their mate safe. If the Veela's mate is happy, than the Veela itself is happy._

_These creatures live long lives, as long as both mates are happy. If the mate of a Veela dies, the Veela dies along with it of loneliness or if it is their time to go, than they die peacefully in sleep together since their souls are tied.'_

Draco closed the book when he saw that there was nothing more but origin and history. He'd read about that later. Right now he had thinking to do.

His mother said that he had met his mate at Hogwarts and something significant happened with them. It was third year. Something that happened in third year.

Draco sighed.

_'Third year. Let's see. Well, I was turned into a Ferret by that crazy- wait, that was 4th year and if my blood had awoken to that idiot playing Mad-Eye Moody, I'd rather die of loneliness. Hmm… third year I was attacked by that menace hippogriff but that couldn't be it unless my mate was a fat bloody chicken but I'd rather die than have myself attached to that thing and I know that it's impossible to be attached to a creature more animal than anything resembling a human. Plus than I'd be dead wouldn't I? It was executed, as far as I heard from the rumours and because I had asked for it to be so. So who could it be? …Holy Fuck!'_

Draco's eyes widened when he made the realization and he summoned a house elf. He scrawled a note to her.

'_Mother,_

_I've gone to Blaise Zabini's manor._

_-Draco'_

He folded it and told the house elf, "Give this to my mother."

The house elf nodded, "Yes sir. Minky be giving this to Mistress for Sir." And it disapparated with a loud pop.

He looked at the fire place in the library, took the floo powder from on top of the mantel and threw some into the flames shouting, "Zabini Manor."

.

Blaise Zabini was lounging about in his den when his best mate since childhood, Draco Malfoy stepped at of his fire place. The boy looked at his friend who was brushing off soot from his robes before asking, "Draco, mate, what are you doing here?"

"I've got news." Was the reply that came and Blaise nodded to take a seat on a sofa before telling Draco to continue.

An hour and a bit later, Draco finished telling Blaise all the details and waited for his friend to say something.

"Let me get this straight, you're a Veela, well, half, and you're looking for your mate?"

"Not looking for. Found."

Blaise smirked. "Well, at least you could say that your years of stalking her have not gone to waste."

"I have not been stalking her."

The dark haired boy rolled his eyes before saying, "Right. Not stalking. You've only been vying for her attention, plotting ways to get her to like you, being a complete arse to other guys that even looked at her in some way you didn't like and memorizing her class schedule so that you could bump into her."

"Blaise, shut up."

"Well it's true and after all these years of you dragging me into your procrastinating plotting ways, you will finally do something about what you feel."

Draco shrugged. "It's either that or die."

"Draco, mate, don't deny that when you found out that she was your mate, you started whooping for joy."

The blonde snorted. "Malfoy's don't start whooping for joy, Blaise. It's not becoming. It's something more like what Weasel-bee or Pothead would do. I'm certainly neither, thank Merlin. And for your info, I came right here when I found out."

"Of course. I mean, I am the one you've been dragging along into your schemes and telling how the progress is going. Only this year we'll both actually get somewhere."

"I thought I told you to shut up, Blaise."

"You're the one that came over here and it's my Manor."

"Right, well, anyways, back than in third year after that defining moment, I guess something happened. Don't get me wrong, it hurt like the devil but there was something more. Her touch did something and I don't know, it was just different."

"Lets skip the sentiments, Draco. I've heard you tell me this a thousand times."

"Blaise, this year, she will fall for me."

"You've been saying that for nearly 4 years now Draco." Blaise pointed out. "Every year you tell me that she'll fall for you this year but than you never do anything."

"I'm telling you Blaise. This year she'll fall for me or else I'm gone and I'm not just talking about heart break… I probably am though. They said that a Veela was going to die of heart break if they don't have their mate. So it's either do or die. Literally."

"True."

"It makes matters easier though. This year she's Head Girl and I surprisingly am Head Boy."

Blaise shook his head. "I still can't believe that Dumbledore chose you."

"Well he did and I'm thankful for it. It gives me more time to work on her." Draco told him. "Head Boy and Head Girl share common room and bath room."

Like Draco, Blaise was smirking now. "I'm sure the stalker in you is happy dancing."

"There's a party going on in my mind as we speak, Blaise. Party in my mind."

"You're going to do everything in your power to make her fall for you within Hogwarts Rules." Laughed the boy. "Now I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor girl."

"I'm willing to break a few rules if it means that I get to live to see my graduation." Draco told him, his voice full of determination. "Plus, I'm starting to warm up to the idea of this mate stuff, especially since it's her."

"Who would've known that the heir to the Malfoy fortune, Hogwarts Sex God, Slytherin Prince and Pureblood Elitist would fall for and be the mate to-"

"-Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio, Hogwarts Know-It-All Prudish bookworm, Gryffindor Lioness and Muggleborn." Draco smirked.

"I think when she slapped you, she slapped all of your senses out your ears." Blaise told him. "I'm also finding you masochistic. Only a masochist who enjoys pain would fall for the one woman to slap him, the woman who is constantly ready to bite his head off and one that he has explosive arguments heard from one side of the castle to the other."

"She changed me Blaise. I wouldn't be a bloody Veela if she hadn't done what she did. Call it Karma. The guy that she _pretends_ to detest is actually the guy she's going to spend the rest of her long life with."

"The hard part is getting her to fall for you."

"Blaise, she's in love with me. She just doesn't know it yet."

"I'm finding it hard to believe that she'd fall for the guy that has been teasing her and being a pain in her lovely arse since she's known him."

"First off, it did get her attention, didn't it? She knows me and who I am doesn't she? There is a thin line between love and hate, Blaise and she's going to cross it. She already feels one emotion strongly for me. Now I've just got to make sure she feels the opposite for me more strongly and I'm set." Draco than got up and stared at Blaise intently. "Second off, don't go talking about her arse, no matter how lovely it is. Don't think about it, don't look at it, and if you even _think_ for one fleeting moment of touching it, I will have your head."

Blaise saw his friend's eyes darken and knew that the Veela changes were already working. The possessiveness was certainly stronger than it was. Back than he could at least joke about her a little. He rolled his eyes. _'This is going to be a long year.'_

"Don't worry, mate. I didn't mean anything by it with the arse comment."

Draco nodded. "I know." He smirked. "You do have a certain fancy for-"

"But we're not talking about me, are we?" Blaise asked, looking pointedly at Draco. "We're talking about you."

"Don't worry. I've already got it worked out." Draco told him.

"You're going to drag me along into this, aren't you?" Blaise muttered.

"Yes and if I don't get her, which I find impossible, I blame you for my death and will haunt you, and haunt the guy she falls for and haunt her and-"

"Draco, shut up and breathe and great Circe's will you relax?" He snapped at his friend when his eyes darkened at the thought of someone else having Granger.

Malfoy took a deep breath and than looked at his friend who was still sitting down. "You are gonna help me, aren't you, Blaise?"

"Well of course I am. You can't really rely on Greg and Vin, can you?"

"Of course not."

"Than you know I'll help."

Draco nodded and smirked. "Hermione Granger is my intended mate and she will be mine."

The other Slytherin smirked along with him and shook his head. _'Oh_ _boy is she and Hogwarts in for a major shock come the start of term. Granger is in for it.'_

.

**A/N:** Comments, and constructive criticism are always welcome.

PS. For those who are curious and have read this chapter previously, Draco's middle name had originally been written as Xavier because I always fancied that name, but I changed it to Lucius upon further inspection because it is Draco's _actual_ name.

Happy Reading,

Charmed


	2. II

_**!DISCLAIMER! I don**__**'**__**t own anything! It**__**'**__**s not mine. I disclaim. Please don**__**'**__**t sue!**_

**A/N: So much feedback! I****'****m so glad you****'****re all enjoying it. One chapter and so many reviews. It****'****s amazing and you guys totally made my day! Thanks to my reviewers! Here they are! (Order latest review to oldest):**

**-firebirdflame -thebookwerm -Daneille Malfoy -Panther Eyes -Kelly**

**-Summer Magick -Shell -Ginsensu -SexiiBabii -cremena -TheCocoaBean**

**-behindblueeyes1117 -bcsbookworm -Nullum Gratuitum -honorchoirsinger**

**-BlackDemonAngel -NessaroseThroppgirl -Jordan cx -XPOPCORNX**

**-CelticGuardian1985 -saor 31054 -0-Jackie-0 -axg -mistressdominque**

**-Liz Storm**

**And my first reviewer for last chapter… jen**

**The answers to your review comments is in the bottom A/N! I suggest you read.**

**Thanks so much guys. Here's the story. **

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 2: Cheesecake, Phase 1 and Poor, Poor Blaise**

Draco, after a long evening of plotting with Blaise, apparated back to Malfoy Manor. No one ever got into any of the Malfoy Estates by apparating unless you were a member of the family, blood related or married into. The Malfoy's that had built the estate were rather…_Cautious_ you could say.

(What Draco really thought was that they were paranoid lunatics… but that was before he found one of his fan girls trying to get into his house. When interrogated about what she was doing, she said that she wanted one of his pair of boxers to add to her shrine. He shivered remembering how she had literally drooled when he walked into the interrogation room, eyeing him like a piece of meat.)

He walked up the stairs and down a few corridors to reach his bedroom, all the while he had a smirk that would make Salazar Slytherin proud, on his face. Upon entering his chambers he saw that his mother was sitting on a chair at a desk close to a window.

"Mother." His voice was once again had the arrogant drawl having recovered from his shock from the news. "What are you doing here?"

Narcissa gave him a radiant smile. "It seems you're in a better mood, darling." She commented happily. He didn't seem mad at her. She had been so worried that he was upset with her for keeping the news from him.

"I went to talk to Blaise." He told her. "I'm sure that Minky gave you the note."

"That she did." She motioned for him to join her which he did. He sat down and she continued with what she was saying. "I'm assuming that you found out who your mate is, darling?"

Her son nodded to her. "It was quite a shock when I figured out who it was but, yes, I know who my mate is."

"Well don't keep me in suspense, Draco. It's very rude to do that. Especially to your mother!" Narcissa said huffily.

Truth be told, she really was excited. She had wanted more children after Draco but Lucius had made it clear that he only wanted one child, the heir to all of his fortune. With Draco taking a mate, it meant that she would have another child. A daughter.

He smiled at her. His mother seemed so much more herself and much more free than she had been when his father was alive. Draco was hesitant to tell her who his mate was even though she had confessed that she didn't believe in the same things that his father did. After all, his mother had always seemed a regal Pureblood. "Well, mother, my mate is Hermione Granger."

Narcissa's blue eyes widened as she made the realization of who his mate was.

Draco watched her reaction and waited for her to say something. It was deathly quiet and the silence was getting to him after a few minutes before Narcissa spoke.

"Hermione…Granger? The _muggleborn _witch, best friend of _Harry Potter _and the _Weasley_ family?" She questioned him.

Draco didn't like what his mother was saying and he felt the need to defend Hermione, holding in the need to snap at his mother. There was a battle raging within him as he murmured in a deathly quiet voice, "Yes, Mother."

He didn't trust himself to talk any louder, lest he yell at his own mother. As much as he didn't like what she was implying about Hermione, she was still his mother and someone he loved very much, having loved few people in his life.

The woman watched as her son's eyes flashed and his tone changed. _'Good.'_ She thought happily, inwardly cheering. She continued with what she was saying. "The one that has always beaten your marks?"

"Well-"

"Draco It's rude to interrupt."

"Sorry," He grumbled begrudgingly. Merlin, it was like he was still five years old and not a 17 year old Veela with a mate…erm…_soon-to-be_ mate.

"As I was saying. The girl that always beat your marks, a Gryffindor and a _brunette_?"

Draco blinked, his grey eyes full of confusion. …A _brunette?_ What was wrong with brunettes? He happened to like Hermione's hair colour.

Narcissa had to hold back her laugh as Draco blinked looking rather lost. She loved teasing her son so. She watched him, his face turning from confusion and shock to something akin to a wistful, almost dreamy, expression. Ah…He was thinking of her.

"Draco, darling, it would help if you stayed with me during our conversation."

He snapped out of his thoughts of Hermione and stared at her for a few moments before his cheeks turned a shade of pink and he mumbled, "Sorry mother. I was…just thinking about…uh… a new broom I wanted to buy from Diagon Alley."

She smiled. "Well that's all good in well but it would be nice if you listened to me. After all, I thought that talking about your mate, the girl that you are going to be bringing into our family and the person that you have had a _crush on for almost four years _would be something you were more interested in."

"Yes, well, it…I-"

His mother looked down at her nails, silently counting in her head, _'Five, four, three…two, one.'_

"Wait, what?"

She laughed, shaking her head. _'I know him well.'_ The blonde woman turned her shining blue eyes towards him. "Oh, honestly darling, did you think I didn't know?"

"But I-" His jaw had once again failed to work that day.

Putting her hand under his chin, Narcissa closed her son's open mouth with a giggle that hadn't been let out in years. "Darling, I'm your mother. We know these things."

"I just hadn't thought you'd be so accepting and I didn't know how you would react if I had told you about her," he finished lamely. "I always assumed you wouldn't like it because she wasn't a pureblood."

"Darling, anyone you believe is special and worthy of your affection, I would accept." Was her answer.

"Thank you, Mother." And the beam on his face from hearing her comment made Narcissa's heart light. Growing up, Draco had always been rather reserved because of Lucius. He rarely smiled when his father was around and she had barely seen it so it brought tears to her eyes.

He stared at her happily until her eyes started clouding over and his face contorted into one of horror. Was she crying? Oh dear Merlin, she was! "Mother, mother, stop! Why are you crying? Oh please stop." Draco begged her, getting up from his chair and squatting down beside her. "Accio handkerchief."

He handed her the handkerchief with the emblem of the Malfoy family when it arrived. Narcissa started dabbing at her eyes but to his utter dismay, she continued with the waterworks. "Mother, why are you crying?"

"You are…you were-" She wiped a tear. "You were _smiling!_"

The boy could not have been more taken aback. "That's _it?_ That's why you were crying?"

"Why else?"

"How am I supposed to know?! We were talking and all of a sudden you're reduced to a blubbering mess!" Came his retort.

"Oh honestly Draco! I was not, as you say, a 'blubbering mess'. I was just getting a little misty."

He threw his hands up in the air while standing. "You could've fooled me mother!"

"Well, sit down, Draco." She told him. "We're not done talking yet."

The heir to the Malfoy fortune was hesitant to get back in the chair. What if she started crying again? One moment the woman was giggling like a school girl when her crush says hi and the next her eyes start leaking… _'Okay, bad mental image.'_ Draco thought, grimacing.

"I promise I won't start crying again, Draco." She sighed

He took his seat somewhat reluctantly.

"Do you have any questions or concerns about the changes going on in your body?" She asked.

Draco stared at her. "Mother, don't make it sound like I'm going through puberty or something," he said, making a face.

Another giggle resounded in the air and he knew that he would never for the life of him understand women and their changing moods. No, scratch that. He'd never understand women, period.

"But really darling, is there something you want to know?"

He looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Well, I don't really feel any different, Mum. I mean, I read about all these changes that are supposed to happen but I don't feel any different. Nothing's changed with any of my senses."

"You'll start changing eventually, Draco. This summer your body was adjusting, preparing and getting ready for the changes to come." Narcissa explained. "The changes are going on as we speak and gradually over the next few days, your senses will be better."

Draco nodded his head.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"If you want to know anything else, you can ask me." She told him. "My grandfather had active Veela blood. He explained it to me before, when I was younger. I can still remember some things that he told me."

"Okay."

She was about to close his door before he asked, "Mother?"

"Yes, darling?"

"How'd you know I had a crush on Hermione?"

Narcissa hid her smile knowing it would only irritate him. "I have my sources, darling. That's all you need to know." And she closed his double doors.

He stood there for a moment before looking over to his fireplace and glaring grumpily. Oh, he knew who her source was alright…

-

"Ow, ow, ow!" Blaise Zabini cried out. "Draco… Oh fuck! That hurts!"

The blonde in question had pinched the Blaise's ear and was turning it, dragging him towards the sofa in the den where they had been earlier that day. He let go of Blaise's ear when the boy sat down. Blaise rubbed it, glaring angrily at his friend. "Well, mind explaining why I'm graced with your presence again and what the _hell_ I did to deserve _that!_" He asked sarcastically.

"You told my mother I liked Hermione?!" His friend bellowed.

Oh.

Blaise's eyes widened.

OH!

Oh, boy, Draco was going to kill him. "Oh that…I can explain that…" He started off.

The blonde pulled out his wand and pointed it at Blaise. "You start talking, Zabini."

Of course, like a total male, Blaise was prone to doing stupid things, especially when threatened and all sense flies out the window. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" He asked maturely.

"I'll get the sweetest revenge of all!" Snapped Draco evilly. His eyes had a glint that Blaise didn't trust, having known Draco well.

"And what might that be?"

"Think Zabini… What would be a suitable punishment and form of revenge for this?"

Blaise sat there for a moment before his eyes once again were the size of saucers.

"You wouldn't!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Draco, you wouldn't!"

"Again, why wouldn't I? In fact, why shouldn't I?"

"I'm your best mate!"

"Like that stopped you!"

"Draco, you can't seriously…"

"Zabini, I'm starting to think that you forgot what I'm capable of doing. I can and will tell your mother that you like-"

"Fine fine! I'll talk!" In true Slytherin, he knew what self-preservation meant.

Draco smirked. "I thought so." And he put his wand away and sat down keeping his piercing stormy grey eyes, darker than normal, pinned on Blaise.

"Begin," He gestured with his hand and said in a voice that meant no irritate and indicate that if he didn't like the explanation, he wouldn't hesitate to use Blaise's secret against him. Ahhh…what a wonderful friendship, wouldn't you say?

Blaise rolled his eyes to the ceiling at Draco's display. He didn't take it too personally because there friendship was an odd one constructed of odd people and their even odder personalities. "Well, it all started when you, you idiot, had to go acting all differently after third year when you were at your Manor."

The blonde's eyes expanded for a moment before he bit out, "How the hell was I different? And how the hell would you know I was different? _I _didn't even know _I_ was acting different!"

"Well your mother thought you were!" Snapped the darker haired boy. "She had suspicions of what was going on with you, especially since she said that you had a 'dreamy' look at times and were always distracted."

"I was not!" Draco yelled. "…Was I?"

"I don't know!"

"And I am not an idiot!"

"You could've fooled me! At times I think you're thicker than Vin and Greg!"

"Am not!" Barked the blonde angrily.

"Very mature, Drake. Very mature." Replied Blaise, his hands thrown up in exasperation.

"You know what? Why don't you keep talking before I find your Mum." Threatened Draco. Blaise was definitely lucky that he was his best friend or he would've been hexed by now.

The boy cleared his throat. "Erm…right. Anyways, one day she trapped me. She asked me if I liked a girl. Now Draco, I didn't cave in like you think I did. I lied smoothly and was very convincing."

"Than how'd she find out?!"

"Will you quit interrupting me? It's very rude!"

"Now you're even starting to _talk_ like my mother!"

"How about you shut up and let me finish?!" Draco pursed his lips but kept them shut none the less to let Blaise go on. "Well, like I was saying, I lied."

"We got to that part already," Malfoy told him boredly. This conversation was going nowhere but catching Blaise's glare, he asked, "Did she at least buy it?"

"Of course she did…" He saw Draco arch an eyebrow. "…not."

"I knew it."

"Your mother is a hell of a negotiator Draco. The woman even plays dirty! She's just like you! I always thought you just got it from Lucius but it seems both of your parents will use any means to get what they want, even if it means having to threaten someone."

Now Draco was really taken a back. "Mother threatened you?"

For as long as he could remember, Narcissa had never threatened anyone to get her way. Not even when she really, really wanted something.

"Not bodily harm. That's more your father's style than hers but she did threaten me. She took away-"

"Oh great Circes! You did not sell me out for…for-" Draco couldn't believe it but Blaise's sheepish look confirmed his thoughts. "You sold me out for _pastry!_"

The dark haired boy looked at him and said, "…Maybe…"

"How could you sell me out for food?! Me! Your best mate!"

"Oh come off it, Draco. Your mum said that if I didn't tell her who you liked she wouldn't give me my chocolate and raspberry drizzle fluffy cheesecake! No one makes cheesecake like your elves do!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Merlin, Zabini! If you wanted cheesecake, all you would've had to do was ask me! I would've given it to you if you had kept your big mouth closed! You're more like Greg and Vin than I am!"

"Am not!"

"You sold me out for pastry! Who does that?"

"Oh shut up!"

There was silence for a few moments before Draco spoke. "It is good cheesecake, isn't it?"

"It really is."

"I like it better with…Wait! You're not off the hook yet!"

'_Good Merlin, I don't like the sound of this…'_ Blaise thought. He knew it was low to give away Draco's secret and he knew that he had to make it up to his friend. "What do you want me to do, Drake?"

"You, my friend, are going to help me with all of my steps to accomplish my ultimate goal… _Including_ my first one."

Blaise groaned. _'Stupid stomach! Stupid cheesecake! Stupid Draco! Is that boy mad! This scheme is idiotic, pathetic and includes pain if we get caught! Draco may be a masochist but I sure as hell am not!'_

"You know that I am a skilled legilimens." Draco told him, smirking once again. "And yes Zabini, this may be suicidal for you but you owe me. I hope this teaches you not to betray for a cheesecake ever again, you fruit."

"I am not a fruit. You know damn well I like-"

"Yeah, yeah. You're still helping me with this though."

"Draco, this scheme involves you more. I don't see how I could possibly-"

"I don't care what you say Zabini. This is step one of our plot to get Hermione to fall for me."

"You can't literally mean that we are going to go to Diagon Alley every day for the next week before classes to-"

"Follow Hermione? Why yes, we are." The smirk was still on Draco's face.

Blaise groaned again.

-

A few days later, Draco and Blaise were in Diagon Alley. They were in Floursish and Blott's, lounging around in a few chairs in the upper part.

"Stop scratching!"

"I can't help it! It's itchy!"

"Suck it up. You owe me."

"Like you'd let me forget." He muttered darkly. "Are you sure that she'll be here today?" Blaise asked Draco discreetly.

"Yes. My sources tell me that she'll be here today."

"…I don't even want to know how you know that."

"We've bought all our stuff yesterday and the day before so we have all the time in the world to find her. She's bound to come in here."

"Of course she is. She's a damn book-" A threatening glare from Draco made Blaise laugh. "Oh relax will you?"

"Anyways, after she comes in here, we make sure we discreetly follow her."

"Draco, this is breaking laws in both muggle and wizarding standards."

"How would you know we're breaking a muggle law?"

"I don't. I'm just assuming that we are."

"Blaise, I doubt muggles have laws of following your mate around…"

"Stalking, Draco. We are _stalking_ her Draco."

"Same difference." He muttered. "Anyways, hush, I think I hear her."

"I don't hear any…"

Down below someone said in a voice that no human would normally hear, "Harry and Ron will be at _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ for a few hours, Gin."

Blaise looked at him and asked, "How'd you hear that?"

Draco shrugged. "I guess my hearing is improving. I heard them from out on the streets."

"Well, I think we're done for the day… Let's just go Draco…" Blaise begged. He really didn't feel like going to Azkaban anytime soon but Azkaban was far more welcome than Granger's wrath. The swelling from Draco's face came back to Blaise's memory and he winced.

"No…now shut up Blaise and get up…"

Draco and Blaise carefully got up and peered down over the railing. The blonde boy looked at Blaise before laughing. "You look like a Weasel, Blaise."

"It's your stupid plan! I didn't want to dress up in costume, but do you listen? No!"

"Well I think I look good with my hair…"

"Your hair is the same colour as Pothead's."

"Better than Weaselbee… Anyways, they're moving."

"I look like a drag queen." Blaise muttered darkly.

"What the hell is that?"

"Well it's a…Oh never mind. Forget it. Let's just go." And a black haired boy and a butch, muscularly redheaded…woman? …Carefully and sneakily followed a brunette witch and her redheaded friend.

-

-

-

-

**A/N: Well guys. That was the second chapter up. Since I got so many reviews I was so inspired to write. Thanks for all the support once again. I've incorporated some of the stuff that you guys suggested in the later chapters. The next chapter won't be up until probably next week because I'm so busy for the next few days. Enjoy and review. Tell me people about the story and get them to review as well, okay? P.S. Reading the author notes will help in knowing when I will update. I'll have my website up soon and it'll let you all know what's going on with the story. Read, Review and Pass my story on! At least 20 reviews to update for next week!**

**Now the Q&A from reviews:**

**XPOPCORNX: Does the mate have to be a Veela?**

**Ally: **_No, the mate doesn't have to be a Veela. Hermione isn't going to be a Veela. As to your request, here's the update! Thanks for reviewing._

**NessaroseThroppgirl: Where'd you get all the info on Veela's froom?**

**Ally:** _Some info I got from mugglenet which is a really good site for all stuff Harry Potter. Than I did some research on other Veela history on I just added more stuff that I thought would be needed for this story and changed some stuff so I could use it in a story. I disclaim anything from the info though. All info is borrowed. Not mine! )_

**honorchoirsinger:** **Why couldn't you have made it Pansy?**

**Ally:** _I'm a Draco/Hermione shipper. I'm sorry if you wanted it to be Pansy but I really just love this ship and I'm not planning on writing a Draco/Pansy anytime soon. Sorry to disappoint._

**For all those who commented on what they wanted to see, once again I have taken it into consideration!**

**20 reviews and I'll update! Pass story on and review. (Kinda redundant and overused in the upper and main paragraph A/N's but please, review!!! Hope you enjoyed! Pass the story on and keep the reviews up!!**

**Love and Thanks,**

**Ally**


	3. III

**A/N: I****'****m proud to say that this story is doing wonderfully! Yay! I also acknowledge that this story wouldn****'****t be going anywhere or doing any good without my reviewers and readers so thank you to all those that have reviewed. I****'****m hoping that I get more reviews for this one. Anyways, read and review and thanks to all those that did review the last chapter! Reviewers are (in order from newest to oldest):**

**Vinwinz - Manila - dramionerox - NessaroseThroppgirl - nadakesgurl - LollipopsandSunshine - ginsensu - blueskyshymoon08 - behindblueeyes1117 - firebirdflame - RunForTheHills - slytherin-pwincess-no1 - Rose Mitzkah - Sarahyyy - Sofia - Elven at Heart - Aloralynn - Panther Eyes - frifri - Bookworm1214 - WinnieThaPoo92 - Nullum Gratuitum - Jordan cx - BlackDemonAngel - Christopher Kidwell - 0-Jackie-0 - axg**

**And my first reviewer of the last chapter: saor 31054**

**Q&A in the bottom A/N!**

**Without further ado****…****Let****'****s start this chapter, shall we?**

**Chapter 3: What Friendship Makes You Do and Gryffindor-Red**

"You are a bloody manipulative prat, did you know that?" Snapped Blaise as he and Draco lounged about, once again in the den of Zabini Manor.

The blonde glared at his friend. "Oh come off it! You were only hit on 4 times. It couldn't have been that bad."

"I am telling you, Draco, that one of those men that hit on me in Diagon Alley was following us until I rushed to lose him." Blaise told him shuddering.

"Oh. Is that why you made all those sharp turns and detours?"

"Self-preservation, my friend." Than the boy looked thoughtful. "Why were all those men hitting on me, and flirting with me, anyway?"

"Maybe it's cause you look like a femme boy." Draco snickered. "You know, one of those guys that look so dashing- I'm only using that word because it's what I've heard the girls say around Hogwarts," He snapped at Blaise's raised eyebrow. "Anyways, a guy that looks dashing that it's almost feminine and girly."

His friend looked indignant. "I am _not_ girly!"

"Right."

"I'm not!" cried Blaise angrily.

"Anyways, I think all those men hitting on you and following you around was just karma biting you back in the ass for following someone else. Just fate giving you your own medicine." Malfoy told him.

The dark haired boy's brows came together in irritation as he looked at his friend. "Me? If anyone should be getting followed and punished, it should be you!"

"I wasn't the one dressed up as a woman, now was I?"

"That was all _your_ idea!"

Their conversation was interrupted by one of the house elves, bringing them their dinner. The shy little elf looked at her master and his friend. "Ebby brings Masters' dinners sir."

Draco and Blaise nodded at the elf.

"Thank you, Ebby." Draco said as he took the tray she carried from her.

"Master Draco is most welcome, sir." She turned her big eyes to Blaise and asked, "Is Master needing more, sir? Ebby shall gets it for Master."

"No, thank you Ebby."

With a snap, the elf was gone.

Blaise smirked. "I'm betting Granger will be very happy to know that you don't mistreat your house elves." He teased.

"I never did anyway." He snapped but the thought of Hermione's pleasure of his treatment to his elves made him smirk. "Now that I think about it, I'm sure she will but anyways, what were you complaining and whining about before Ebby came?"

"Your dressing me up as a woman!" Cried Blaise angrily. "Why did I have to dress up as a woman and all you had to do was put on a wig and change your eye colour!"

The blonde poked at his salad and ate a bit before gracing his friend with a glance. "Well, for one, if someone like Pothead came along and we'd have a glamour charm, we'd be dead 'cause he'd know it's us… He isn't as dense as the Weasel. He could tell from our, well, my voice, since yours was high and screechy." The dark haired boy glared which Draco ignored. "A potion you'd have to keep drinking every few hours which gets tiresome, you might spill a bit and some absolutely smell and taste putrid."

"Than why costumes?" He shouted. "I mean, use a different spell, a different potion! Something!"

Draco, who had just finished another bite of salad, looked like the proverbial cat that ate the canary, his smirk was wide as he said, "Well, that was just the beginning of your punishment since you sold me out for a bit of cheesecake. I just wore one so that you wouldn't get suspicious until we got back."

Blaise wasn't sure that his mouth could function properly. "You…I…"

"You didn't just think that I'd let you off the hook for the cheesecake incident, mate, did you?" Laughed Malfoy. "Plus, I gave you red hair. You've got an affection for certain…firecrackers, don't you?"

"Shut up, Draco."

'_That sneaky conniving little arrogant prat but I have to admit though…' _Blaise thought. _'If I was in his place, I would've done the same thing.'_

'_Of course you would've Blaise.'_

'_Get out of my head, Draco.'_

'_Gladly. There are certain thoughts about certain firecrackers that I don't want to know about…'_

"You are a downright bastard," he snapped once he was sure Draco wasn't lurking in any of his thoughts. Damn Draco and his skill of Legilimency.

Malfoy shrugged the comment off. "My parents were legally wed when they had me. Plus, I take it as a compliment. It means you're so upset with my scheme, agreeing on some part that you actually did fall for it."

"Your mind works in twisted ways."

"And these twisted ways will win the girl."

Blaise started eating his food, having calmed down enough to actually be amused by the day, ignoring certain moments when he met certain people… "What did we learn from this day of stalking besides the fact that women are aliens if they can wear heels while shopping for a whole day?"

"If she has a boyfriend or not."

"Like the Weasel?"

Draco's eyes flashed before muttering, "She isn't dating him or anyone."

"That's good." He said. "That means I won't have to cover for your idiotic arse when you commit murder. What else did we learn if we haven't been gathering favourite ice cream flavours, and what she was wearing…"

Draco stared at him weirdly. "Since when did I want you to learn what her favourite ice cream flavour was and what she was wearing?"

"…In third year, a few days after she punched you, you said that you wanted me to write down everything that she seems to like and what she wears…"

"Mate, I was only joking about that… Didn't I tell you that?"

"No…" Now Blaise really got mad. "You mean to tell me that I've been cramping my hand all these years and writing this stuff down in a large book that I carried around everywhere and would put all of our other school books put together to shame for _nothing_?"

"Is that what the book was?" Draco asked. "I always thought you had a fondness for writing…"

"No, I don't have any _fondness_ for writing!" Snapped Zabini. His face was red with rage. "I've wasted four years…_four years_ of my life, writing this down?"

"I guess you have." Draco answered. "I'm sorry mate. If I had known that that was what you were doing, I would have told you to stop. You never said a word."

Blaise sighed before shrugging his shoulders and giving a nod to Draco to say that he accepted the apology. His friend rarely ever made apologies.

The two lapsed into silence for a moment before Draco asked, "So you really have a book full of what Hermione wore on what days and ate?"

"Yup."

"Blaise, man, that's creepy…"

He glared, his dark eyes on Draco. "Shut up, Malfoy. You're lucky I didn't hex you."

"You've been using that threat with me for years now, Blaise and you've never turned your wand on me unless we were angry at one another. Even than you rarely used your wand, you always just plotted something diabolical."

"They were better and far more satisfying than a quick hex." He told Draco.

"Mmm…" His friend agreed. "…What are we gonna do with that book?"

"I dunno. I guess we burn it?"

"All your hard work?"

"I've no affection for keeping useless junk in my possession, Draco." He said in a rather dry tone.

"We'll burn it after dinner."

"Fine." They ate dinner before Blaise spoke again. "So what were we doing following her if you didn't want to know any of the information I've gathered?"

"I just wanted to make sure she didn't have anyone bothering her and to know where she was and who was around her…"

"So you could scare off any male that went anywhere near her?"

"Basically."

"And besides finding out if she had a boyfriend, what was the point of today?" He asked the blonde.

"Well, mother, a few nights ago suggested that I test out my Veela senses. She says they're going to be acting up any day so I might as well try to get used to them in crowded places. The manor is huge and doesn't have that many people so it wouldn't overwhelm me but as big as Hogwarts is, the halls between classes, the Great Hall and especially during a Qudditch match, there are tons of people."

"Smart woman, your mother."

"She got you to sell me out, didn't she?"

"Are you still cross about that?"

"Yes…"

"You're still gonna make me pay for that?"

"Without a doubt."

Blaise sighed. "Fine. Anyways, is that all we had to do? Test out your senses? I had to dress like a woman for _that_?"

"Well, mother also said that I should familiarize my senses with Hermione's scent and voice."

"I doubt she meant we should follow her in Diagon Alley."

"Ahh…but she never said I shouldn't follow her."

"She thought you'd do whatever it is you're supposed to do at Hogwarts when you had the time."

"I had all the time in the world today, didn't I? Anyways, I think I'm getting better at handling some of my abilities; at least the hearing part. It took a while and I know I'm gonna have a headache tonight but it's changing at least. It's only just started to act up today. The other stuff hasn't started yet."

"So you're going to attune your senses to Hermione's, mainly?"

"Pretty much."

"Huh… I'm still confused."

"So am I. I'm pretty much learning as I go…"

"Well, training your senses to know Hermione is pretty smart, what with her being your future mate and all." Blaise agreed.

"With any luck my senses will have all started to change before we ride the train." Draco said. "It'd be easier to find her."

"Draco you are-"

His friend cut him off. "I'm not the one with the book…"

"I'm burning it! I'm burning it!"

The days that followed after that were a blur for Draco. He had been getting ready to go to school during odd parts of the week but the better part of his time was spent trying to get control of his senses. His hearing had came and gone making him hear odd conversations, some of them things he didn't want to hear, like what one of his elves thoughts were on Minky that weren't particularly G-rated… It had taken a while before his hearing had finished the transition and after a few head aches, he finally got the hang of it.

His site had improved as well, though someone could have mentioned to him that his vision would be blurry for an entire day. He had panicked when he found that he couldn't see and had called for his mother. She had assured him that it was normal. His normal human vision was gone because it was being overtaken and replaced to have a Veela's sight. After that day of being bedridden, he once again could see but with much more clarity.

He had come down with a cold on the next day and he hadn't been able to smell or taste anything but he knew it had to have been part of his change. Sure enough, he was right because his taste buds came back stronger than ever and his sense of smell did as well. At the moment he was checking his trunk that a house elf had helped him pack and he could smell the pot roast that was being cooked at the other end of the Manor.

His mum came in just as he closed his trunk. "All ready to go, darling?"

"Yeah. My trunk has everything so I'm all set for tomorrow." He nodded.

"Oh, I can't believe you're leaving me again." Sighed Narcissa and she sniffled a little.

Draco could smell the salty tears forming and the sadness wafting from her was downright uncomfortable. "Mother, please don't. It's only school and you can even visit and come to my Quidditch games. I'll be back before you know it."

She gave a weak smile. "Come on, darling. Let's go have dinner."

The next day after that, Draco and Narcissa stepped onto the platform. It was busy and Draco was a little overpowered by it. He was a little busy from all the chatter but his mother smiled and murmured, "You'll get used to it soon enough that you won't even feel it. I also know that you'll most likely cause some mischief once you're able to control it."

"I'm shocked you'd even suggest me causing any trouble, Mum." He told her with an innocent look. It was the same look he'd use when he was a child and he'd done something but didn't want to be scolded. She knew better, always had, but that look always made her forgive him.

"We'll see." She murmured with a grin. "Your senses will be completely improved in the next month, darling. They'll all probably be done with the change after 2 weeks. The next 2 you'll spend learning to control them and handle them. I think this month will be the hardest, but after that, you have nothing else to worry about."

"Good to know."

The train whistled. He had 15 minutes to board it and he wanted to find Blaise before going to the Head compartment.

"I'm going to go now, Mother." Draco told her.

"Alright, darling. Off you go then." She gave him a weak and watery smile. He pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to her. Narcissa took it and said, "Thank you, Draco."

He just nodded before she pulled him into a hug. Draco was a little embarrassed but he hugged his mum none the less and than pulled away. "See you soon." He told her, and with that he started walking.

Just before he boarded, he gave her a final glance over his shoulder with a smile and nod. She waved him off and he stepped inside.

The train was already crowded with students so he walked up the train to the very first compartments. He found the one that said _'Head Students'_ and stepped inside. Surprisingly enough, Blaise was in there, lounging about.

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to check out how much better you have it than us other poor and unfortunate students." He told his friend. "I was right. You and your girl have it far better. Look at how big and comfy these seats are."

"Glad you are enjoying it," Draco said in a drawl.

"Oh, I am. I am."

"Well, since you're here, let's go over a few of these things on our next scheme," Draco said.

Blaise cut in. "_Our_ scheme? Excuse my English, Draco, but I think the correct term is _your_ scheme."

"Okay then," Draco smirked. "It's _your_ scheme…"

"No. When I said your scheme, if it was you saying it, than it'd be _my_ scheme."

"That's right, Blaise. I've already agreed that it's-"

"You know what, fuck it!" He swore making Draco laugh.

On the other end of the train just stepping onto the platform was the girl that all this madness centered around. Hermione Granger.

She pushed her trolley aside to let Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, her best friends, to pass through.

Since the boys were having an in-depth discussion about Quidditch plays, Ginny and Hermione were able to have a little girl chat without them staring. Contrary to popular belief, Hermione did talk about boys as well but with far fewer irritating giggles.

"So, I heard from Parvati Patil that Draco Malfoy was looking particularly delish," Ginny told her friend. "I'm not particularly surprised. He always was good looking from the get-go."

The brunette witch stared at her friend. "I cannot believe you just said that about Draco Malfoy, prat extraordinaire, Gin."

"Look past that horrid personality and you get this handsome looking package."

"Look past that 'handsome'-and I use that term loosely because he is the exact opposite of handsome- and you get this empty shell."

"Mmm…but he's such a-"

"If you say he's a good looking empty shell than I will whack you in the back of the head with one of the Gryffindor Beater's bats."

The youngest Weasley just laughed and said, "Wow. You aren't living with Malfoy yet and you've already got the threatening thing down. You even have the look he makes, only feminine, if that's possible." She teased.

Hermione scowled. "Oh hush, Ginny."

"You can't deny it though, 'Mione." Her friend pointed out. "Draco Malfoy may just be the yummiest wizard alive."

The older witch raised one eyebrow. "Oh really? Weren't you last night just telling me that you thought that a certain dark haired Slytherin was quite possibly the yummiest wizard alive?"

"Yes, well," Ginny stammered, her face flaming as red as her hair.

"Hey you two!" Ron yelled.

Hermione and Ginny looked up to find that Harry and Ron had already gone ahead to an entrance in the train. "If you don't want to get left behind than I suggest you hurry it up. You can-" Ron stopped mid-speech and stared at his little sister. "Bloody hell, Hermione. What'd you say to her? Ginny, your face is all Gryffindor-red."

"Oh shut up, Ron!"

After settling into the train, Hermione looked at her watch and found that it was 10:57. They'd be leaving for school soon.

"Hey, 'Mione." Ginny gestured to sit beside her and the boys took opposite seats to them, still going on about how to beat the Slytherin team for the Cup.

"Since they're both not paying attention, we can finish that chat…"

"Oh, I for one am glad." Hermione smirked. "I mean, we've even got a new name for that blush. I do think that it's a wonderful shade on you, Gin, that Gryffindor-red."

The witch glared but then she got a sly look on her face. "I think you've got the Slytherin smirk down, 'Mione. Could it be that you've learned that from a certain blonde?"

"I…well…what?" Hermione felt her face flame and she was horrified.

'_Why am I blushing? She's only teasing me about_ Malfoy_!' _She thought. _'He's nothing more than an arrogant, self-centered, git!'_

Ginny, along with almost everyone else, rarely saw Hermione flustered and at a loss for words so she enjoyed every moment of Hermione's stunned stupor. Her friend's face was still red and she giggled. "Why, Hermione. I do believe you yourself look wonderful with Gryffindor-red."

"Oh shut up!" Snapped Hermione, her face darkening.

Harry and Ron looked up and the spectacled boy asked, "What is it you two are talking about now that's even got Hermione looking like a tomato?"

"Blimey Hermione! Your face is the same colour as your scarf!" Ron laughed along with Harry as he indicated the blood red silk neck scarf that she had bought on a shopping trip in a shop in muggle London during the summer.

Hermione huffed with anger. "Shut up, you two!"

"We're just saying, 'Mione," laughed Harry.

"Oh but doesn't she look gorgeous?" Ginny laughed as they all continued to tease Hermione.

The brunette girl stood up with as much dignity as she could and looked at the three of them. "I think I'm going to go find the Head compartment."

They sobered a little after that and Harry smiled and said, "Aw, 'Mione. We were only joking around. We didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine, Harry, really." She told them. "I forgive you all for being prats but I really do have to go to the compartment, if only to show that I'm on the train, alive and well. It's easier walking up and down the aisle when the train isn't moving yet."

Ginny stood up. "I'll go with you if you want, 'Mione." she told her.

"Sure, Gin." They stood up and Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron. "We'll be back later or I'll send Ginny if I can't come back and have to stay there."

"What am I? An owl?" Asked the redhead.

"Pretty much. If I have to stay there, you can even bring me back my bags when you tell Harry and Ron." Hermione told her.

"I'm telling you 'Mione. They made a mistake sorting you into Gryffindor. You are as manipulative as a Slytherin."

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment." And they walked out of the compartment as Ron shut the door closed.

Draco and Blaise were just starting to talk about the strategies Draco had worked on during the summer for the Slytherin Quidditch team when the blonde stopped mid-sentence.

"Drake… Is something wrong?" His friend asked.

He kept his eyes on the door for a few moments before turning back to his friend. "She's coming to the compartment and from the smell of things, she's bringing the Weaslette with her."

Blaise rolled his eyes at his name for the youngest Weasley than looked at Draco and said, "I still find it freaky how you can pick up on stuff like this now. It's brilliant, don't get me wrong; at times I wish I had them but its so hard to wrap my head around the fact that you can pick up on sounds and smells that are too far away for me to hear or smell."

Draco shrugged before muttering, "They're almost at the door."

"Are we any closer to it?" Ginny asked. "Who knew this train was so bloody long?"

"You're starting to sound like your brother."

The younger girl's face contorted to one of pure horror. "Merlin help me!"

Hermione laughed. "Well, these are the last compartments to the front. Harry and Ron are in one of the middle compartments."

"Imagine what it'd be like to walk up here if we'd been stuck in the back compartments."

They walked for a bit more before Hermione smiled when she found it. "Here it is."

The screen was down so you couldn't see inside so Hermione assumed that someone was already in there but she couldn't hear anything. No one seemed to be talking.

She opened it slowly with Ginny at her back, glancing over her shoulder and found Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy staring at her.

After a few moments of silence, Draco saw Hermione shifting awkwardly at the door. It appeared that the girl was uncomfortable.

'_Well would you be comfortable if your best friends' enemy is just staring at you?'_ A voice in his head asked.

He shrugged. _'Probably not.'_

'_Exactly!'_

'_I guess I should say something.'_

'_That would be a good idea, you moron.'_

'_You're the moron! Wait…Why am I arguing with a stupid voice in my head?'_

'_See. You are a moron… Oh, she's staring at you by the way. Smooth move buddy. She thinks you're completely mental.'_

'_Shit.'_ He thought when he glanced up and saw Hermione staring at him.

Hermione found that she couldn't take the awkward silence anymore. "Hello Malfoy." She glanced at his friend and smiled a little. "Hey Blaise."

"Hi Hermione." Blaise waved a little.

They had been partners for a project in Ancient Runes and had formed somewhat of a friendship. She had found that not all Slytherins were bad, even if they did hang around Draco Malfoy. The boy had even told her that Malfoy wasn't a bad guy.

'_Ha!'_ She thought. _'Then again, he might not be. I don't know him all that well…'_ She shook her head slightly. _'What the hell am I thinking? It's Malfoy!'_

The Head Girl looked at the blond Slytherin. His hand was white, probably because it was balled into a fist, and his jaw was clenched. Draco's eyes seemed to have darkened and was staring at his friend with raised eyebrows.

Hermione turned to her friend to ask what she had missed while she was thinking and Ginny just shrugged, not knowing what happened either.

Blaise saw the look on Draco's face when Hermione had given him a more familiar and friendly greeting. She hadn't seen the fact that he had swallowed when she greeted him, nor did she know that when she smiled at him afterwards, she had placed the last nail to his coffin.

He greeted her back and looked at his friend. Seeing the look on Draco's face, Blaise wanted to groan. Perfect. Just perfect.

Draco may not live after his next birthday but he wouldn't live to see tomorrow.

Stupid Draco and his bloody possessiveness. Stupid Veela blood. Stupid Hermione for greeting him. Stupid him for getting stuck in between the angry blond Veela and the oblivious brunette witch.

When he felt Draco in his head, not to mention the anger radiating off of his thoughts, made Blaise want to bang his head and pass out until all this was over.

'_I can explain.'_ Blaise thought when he felt Draco's presence.

'_Start explaining before I snap your neck, Zabini.'_

He groaned.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

**A/N: Finite Chaper 3! What'd you think? The next chapter is even better than this one. It's very amusing! My webpage is up and running. You should check it out. I'm giving a snippet of the next chapter and it's also the place to know if any updates are being made or any new stories and one-shots are being produced.**

_**Q&A Time!**_

**0-Jackie-0: We all know that Blaise likes Ginny right?**

**Ally: **_From what I wrote in this chapter, I think you can make an educated guess and be correct! Hehe! ;)_

**Jordan cx: What house is he/she in? (Referring to who Blaise likes)**

**Ally:**_ Well, she's in Gryffindor…I think we can figure out who it is right about now…_

**Nullum Gratuitum: When Draco was telling his mum about finding his mate, it was kind of confusing. I had to read it over a few times before I got it right. Also, some Draco & Blaise conversations were a bit hard to follow, in particular the part where he was trying to find out why Blaise let Draco's secret slip.**

**Ally: **_Sorry you found it confusing. I was writing it while my cousins were there and bugging me to hang out with them. They're younger than me and we haven't seen each other in a bit. I read it over and it didn't sound confusing but than again, I'm the author and I may write something unconfusing to me but is confusing to others therefore is far more confusing and time consuming than writing something unconfusing for everybody. Gosh. That was confusing wasn't it? Haha. Sorry. I'm a little hyper right now. I just finished the chapter coming home from shopping with my family. Whoa, long answer._

**Panther Eyes: How is stalking suppose to help Draco to win Hermione's heart?**

**Ally:**_ I hopefully answered this in the chapter above!_

**Rose Mitzkah: Is it Ginny? (The Blaise crush)**

**Ally:** _What do you think? Hehe. We'll see won't we but I think I've given it pretty much away in this chapter._

**RunForTheHills: "Than" instead of "Then".**

**Ally:** _Thanks for pointing that out for me! I always get those confused. Argh! So aggravating!_

**firebirdflame: Do you plan on doing any chapters in Hermione's POV?**

**Ally: **_Yup. )_

**ginsensu: Why do they need costumes? Can't they use a spell or potion?**

**Ally:** _I incorporated my answer in the above chapter! )_

**NessaroseThroppgirl: Will there be any Ginny/Blaise shipping?**

**Ally: **_Hmm… Well, if you know who Blaise likes, you'll also know the answer. This chapter gave it away! Hehe. Well, almost, anyways._

**dramionerox: …spelling mistake…**

**Ally:** _Sorry. I was distracted by my cousins that I rushed it and didn't have time to proofread and edit. Thanks for pointing it out. It's now been changed._

**Manila: Maybe this story's too kind? Maybe some dark Draco will make the fic more interesting.**

**Ally: **_I think it's best if I keep the story light but I'm working on a oneshot that has a somewhat dark Draco! It's coming up soon._

**Vinwinz: I want to see Hermione in the next one!**

**Ally:** _Your request has come true! Hehe! )_

**- Much love, Ally**


	4. IV

**A/N: Wow. Fourth Chapter. Yay! Don't hate me for not updating so fast but I had to do some stuff for school and since school's started well… I think it'll be one chapter every 2 weeks. I know that seems long but hopefully I'll be finished writing the story and all I'll have to do is update which will be once a week if I finish. Anyways, thanks to all my reviewers! Reviewers: (Order newest to oldest)**

**lvswtht, ****IvEgOtAnOtHeRcOnFeSsiOnToMaKe, sarahyyy, Disara, Nullum Gratuitum, Daneille Elizabeth Malfoy, i love thorpe park, dramionerox, luvHaru7, 0-Jackie-0, Semora, pstibons, Trory4ever, Katia Dashwood, DracosLover1313, RunForTheHills, Uncle Sevvy, ginsensu, firebirdflame, behindblueeyes1117, hotchic, blueskyshymoon08, KRL2008, BlackDemonAngel, Vinwinz, Rose Mitzkah, mistressdominique, black mirror, spacesareoverrated, ImperfectImpressions, Elven at Heart, saor 31054, leaf-blossom, bluebear13sg, Panther Eyes, dawntodusk08, Writer Of Mysteries, frifri**

**And the first reviewer of the last chapter: bloodoftheangels**

**Now…time for the story…**

-

-

-

**Chapter 4: Explosives, Innuendos and Old Age Bitterness**

Ginny looked at Blaise right after he groaned and asked, "Are you alright, Zabini?"

He glanced up at her. "Er…yeah, Weasley. Fine."

"Well Granger, Weasley, don't just stand there." Malfoy said in his slow drawling accent. "Take a seat. It's your compartment too, if you haven't already forgotten the perks of being a Head, Granger."

The girl in question glared sharply at him, her vibrant brown eyes flashing angrily. "For your information, Malfoy, out of the two of us, you're the most likely to forget the responsibility of your position and just remember the things that'll benefit you."

He arched an eyebrow at her sharp tongue before smirking at Hermione. She found it a little suspicious though. There was a glint in the blonde's eyes, almost roguish and his smirk was wide, almost as if he knew something that she didn't, which was impossible… Wasn't it?

"I've got more important things to do this year, Granger." He told her, the glint still shining in his eyes, almost taunting Hermione. "You still haven't sat down. What's wrong, Granger? Weaslette? Afraid of the big bad Slytherins?" Draco chuckled when they glared. The redhead's fist was clenched. She had a temper as bad as her brother, apparently.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Ginny snapped.

Hermione put her hand on Ginny's shoulder and shook her head. "Leave it, Gin. Let's just sit."

The redhead was still fuming but took a seat…right beside Blaise. Hermione hid her smile and took the seat beside the Head Boy.

-

'_Ginny Weasley is sitting beside me,' _Blaise thought. _'Ginny Weasley is sitting…beside _me_.'_

Draco glanced at him after he watched Hermione reluctantly take the seat beside him. _'Before you start having a revolting fantasy about the Gryffindork, I suggest that you better start talking about how much charming you've been doing with _my_ Hermione.'_

'_Erm… We just worked together for a project in Ancient Runes. I even told you I was working with her.'_ Blaise told him, trying to keep Draco calm. He didn't seem as hostile as he was before, now that Hermione was sitting beside him.

'_Did you?'_ Draco asked. _'I vaguely recall you telling me about that during dinner but I wasn't paying attention. Hermione was getting ready to go to the Library after dinner.'_

The darker haired Slytherin had to stop himself from rolling his eyes or thinking anything about how pathetic Draco was. _'Glad to know that when I tell you something about my day, you are all ears.'_

'_Oh come off it, Blaise. When I told you that I had to be partners with Weasley in Herbology that one time, you weren't paying attention. The moment I said Weasley, _you _started thinking about the She-Weasel.'_

'_Her name is Ginny, Draco. Ginny. Do you think you can contemplate that?'_ Blaise asked him, rolling his eyes. _'And anyways, enough with the silence dammit. If you haven't noticed, your future mate is right beside you, moron. Start talking and showing her you aren't the complete arse she thought you were since first year.'_

Malfoy retreated from Blaise's thoughts and glanced at Hermione who was apparently having some odd conversation with the younger girl by making faces.

Hermione was sitting there and tilted her head to Draco while staring at Ginny while shaking her head and the redhead, apparently understanding rolled her eyes and put her hand to her forehead in a dramatic way before nodding her head and than tilting her head to Blaise.

Just as Hermione was about to reply, Draco said, "As amusing as this is, seeing you two act like a couple of lunatics, what the hell are you both saying about us?"

Ginny grinned. "Well Hermione was just-"

"If you even breathe a word, Ginevra Molly Weasley, I will have your head…unless you wouldn't mind me opening my mouth. I mean, I do love answering questions don't I? And Malfoy did have a question…" The Head Girl said casually.

That shut up the girl pretty good.

"Are either of you going to answer my question?"

"No!" The two girls snapped together before Ginny got up to leave. "I have to tell Ron and Harry that you're fine, anyway. I'll drop by later, Hermione."

She looked up at her friend. "Sure, Gin. I'll see you soon?"

"Definitely," came the reply, the girl's brown eyes glancing at Hermione before giving a quick stare at the two boys still in the compartment, as if warning them. Without another word, she left, closing the door.

-

After the Weaslette left, Draco looked at Blaise who was still staring at the place where the girl had once stood. He cleared his throat to grab Blaise's attention and motioned for the door, telling him to exit as well.

Catching the subtle hint, the boy gave his companion a sly glance before saying, "I have to go and make sure that Vin and Greg haven't tried to rob the Trolley woman again. Drake, Hermione." He nodded and left the two Heads alone.

The door closed with a click and Hermione sat opposite Draco in the spot his friend just vacated.

He glanced at her and decided to have some fun.

"Hey Granger, let's play a game. A question game. The questions have to be yes or no. No in betweens. Just a straightforward answer. You up for it?"

The girl looked surprised for a moment that he was speaking to her and it wasn't rude or something that would make her irritable.

"Erm…sure, Malfoy. I'll play."

"How about you start."

"Okay. Do you…umm…" She thought for a second before saying, "Do you plan on getting married after school is done?"

Draco smirked. "Yes and it seems to me that you're interested in my love life."

Her brown eyes widened considerably before her face flamed and she answered indignantly, "I am not! It was just the first question that popped into my head."

"Fine." The boy rolled his eyes before asking his question. "Is it true that Weasel-bee told you he was fancying that Leprechaun Gryffindor…What's his name? Finnigan?"

"No, it's not true. And Seamus is not after my lucky charms!"

"Lucky-What?"

"Never mind. I went to America for the Holidays and it was on the telly."

"The what?"

"It's a muggle…Ugh, you're impossible! Forget it."

"Well anyway, no, he didn't tell you or no he's not gay?" Draco asked, arching a pale blond eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Both," She glared. "Now since your questions are getting personal, is it true that Pansy Parkinson is your sex slave?"

"Pansy is my _friend_. Everyone just blows things way out of proportion." He told her, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I thought of all people, you'd know that. I grew up with her. She's like my _sister_ for Merlin's sake! The girl is the farthest thing from what they say as possible, though she really does have a sharp tongue…like someone I know…"

"My tongue is _not_ sharp!"

"I didn't say it was _you_ but now that you brought it up… And if you don't have a sharp tongue than I'm not Lucius Malfoy's heir!"

She was quiet for a moment before she couldn't help herself. "You're not?" Hermione asked seriously and she knew it was a mistake when he stiffened in his seat.

"Contrary to many stories, though Lucius was unfaithful to my mother, he never had any other children besides me." It stung, the thoughts of seeing his mother in tears as a child, and he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. "It's called sarcasm, Granger. We've talked sarcasm for years."

"I didn't mean to say something rude." Was her quiet reply as she looked down at her feet. "It's your turn to ask me something."

More silence lingered in the air between them and Draco didn't like the way the tension had built in the room again so he decided to lighten the mood. "Remember Granger, you must answer the questions with yes and no. You know the rules. No maybes and blah situations where you 'might' do this or 'might' do that, understood?" He asked, ensuring that she answer the question the way he wanted.

"Fine."

The smirk he had on his face made her look at him suspiciously and sure enough, he confirmed them as he asked, "If I asked you for sex, would your answer be the same answer as the one to this question?"

Hermione stared at him. _'Ask _me_ for…sex?'_ She fought to refrain from blushing at his comment. _'It's Malfoy, Hermione! Malfoy! Pain-in-the-arse Malfoy!'_

"Well Granger, are you gonna answer me or are you gonna just sit there blushing?"

"I am _not_ blushing!" She snapped out, though the dark red tinges on her cheek told him another story, making him laugh. "Stop it, Malfoy!"

"Well, come now, Granger. What's your answer?"

"Erm…No…Wait…Yes…I mean-" Hermione huffed. This question was impossible.

'_If I say yes, than if he asks me for sex it has to be yes.'_ She thought. _'If I say no, than my answer for sex would be yes. Either way I'm saying, 'Yes Malfoy, take me now!''_

When she chanced a glance at him, he stared intensely at her before she felt him in her mind. _'That's right, Granger. Now answer me straight.'_

'_Get out of my head, Malfoy.'_

'_Answer the question, Granger.'_

"Fine, yes."

"Yes?" He asked, looking startled.

"Well if I said no, my answer would have been yes anyway."

His eyes shined happily. Ahh… She was seeing things his way already and their 'courtship', as the book he read called it, had only just started. "True."

"I'm done playing this game with you. You cheat." The Head Girl accused.

"I did not! I played fair. You just couldn't answer the question without giving me what I wanted."

Hermione didn't answer for a moment as she looked at him. "I highly doubt that having sex with me is what you want. Now I'm going to ignore you and you're going to help me by shutting up."

"Not gonna grace me with your witty thoughts or acknowledge me in anyway, Granger? How rude!" He told her in his usual sticky drawl. "But come on now! Did you really think I'd let you? You must be delusional."

"…"

"Well, if I'm gonna think than I guess I'll think out loud and pretend I'm talking to someone." The Head Boy cleared his throat and started a conversation…with himself.

"Hello Draco!"

Hermione peeked at him from the corner of her eyes and saw that his eyes were closed, his face relaxed as he spoke like a lunatic needing help from the wonderful folks at St. Mungo's.

"Why hello, Draco! You look absolutely sexy today!"

And Draco said to Draco, "Thank you! And you my dear friend, must have worked out this summer. You are looking like one nice piece of man-flesh yourself."

She tried to hold in her laughter as he continued. He looked ridiculous but in the adorable sort of way. Wait…she hadn't meant adorable…She meant pukeable! That's right!

….Really! She did!

"Now you gorgeous rogue, you, why are you all by your lonesome?" He asked himself.

The boy shrugged his shoulders replying, "Well, there's this really cute, slightly violent brunette but after she got what she wanted, which was sex from me, she totally ignored me and blew me off for air."

He huffed. "How rude of that air! Taking the brunette like that. But are you sure she isn't using you for your body? I mean, from what you've told me…"

Hermione bit back her amusement and tried to sound irritable as she said, "Shut up! Stop talking to yourself, you bloody idiot! And I _am _not using you for your body! _I_ wasn't the one that asked to have sex! _You_ did!"

"Small detail. In fact, many small details are usually overlooked."

"This isn't a small detail! _You_ asked. _You!_"

He popped an eye open to look at her, delight and laughter in his gaze. "Well look who's talking to me…"

"I…well… How could I not respond when you-"

Draco opened his eyes and tossed a mock shocked look at Hermione. "Why Granger? Don't you have any class? That was a _private_ conversation you were listening in on! How could you?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!"

"Draco, did you hear that? Wasn't eavesdropping she says…" He told himself as his silvery gaze slid away from her.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" She snapped. "I wasn't eavesdropping!" When his gaze was still away from her, Hermione said, "Will you look at me when I'm talking to you, you prat?"

He chuckled as he turned his head towards her. "Well if you wanted my attention that badly, _Hermione_."

Her brown eyes were full of disbelief as she questioned, "Since when did you call me by my name?"

"Granger was always your name…"

"Well, my _first_ name, should I say."

"I've decided that I don't want to fight with you anymore or hate you anymore." He told her. "I mean, what with the war and all that… It wasn't something I believed in much anyway but it pleased my father. Plus we're going to be working together _and_ living together. It was bound to happen anyway."

"That was smart of you, _Draco._"

"Mind you, I'm only calling _you_ by your first name. St. Potter, the boy-who-just won't die, and the Weasel King, side kick of the boy-who-is-a-pain-in the arse, though they could share that title, are another story. In fact, quite a few of you Gryffindorks are another story. Your lot is almost, very nearly, tied with the Hufflepuffs on the annoying scale."

She sighed. "Very mature of you, Malfoy but at least you're not going to make my final year a complete nightmare."

"Oh?" Malfoy stared at her. "Did you expect me to be mean and cruel?"

"Well, what could I expect after the last 6 years, Ma-Draco."

"True." Shrugging his shoulders, he accepted her reasonable answer. "There was a war though, Granger. War changes people. And even if there wasn't, people do change. Many do grow up."

Hermione stayed silent.

"Now Granger…speak of changes…What do you know about Veela's?"

"Quite a few things. I've read some books about them. They're fascinating. Fleur Delacour Weasley? She's half, if I remember correctly."

"But in general…What do you know about them?"

"Well, Veela's have a special bond with their mate. Their mate is someone they spend the rest of their life with and die with. If the Veela doesn't claim their true mate by their 18th birthday, they die."

"Good job Granger. You didn't waste your time getting to where I wanted but we'll save it for another time."

Hermione looked at him curiously. "Why are we talking about Veela's?"

He shrugged. "I'll tell you soon enough."

Somehow, his answer only fuelled her curiosity.

-

After a long train ride full of more banter, a meeting with Professor McGonagall and the Prefects, they arrived at school. Draco and Hermione parted to their tables after making sure that everyone had gotten off the train and that the Prefects were helping control the mass amount of students to where they were supposed to be and what to do with their things.

The Sorting hat sang it's opening song once everyone was seated.

_So you bother me to sing a song?_

_Well just for that, I made it long_

_Long ago when this school was made_

_And I was still fabulously brand new_

_The four founders thought it'd be smart if_

_I choose houses brats like you'd be sorted to_

_And these four had qualities they admired most_

_Qualities that they could talk and boast_

_There was Helga Hufflepuff_

_A woman incredibly full of fluff_

_She rambled on and on that'd if I'd have ears, they'd bleed_

_Basically, those Loyal and Just were who she'd really need_

_Next, Rowena Ravenclaw who was quite picky_

_Sorting for her during those times was quite tricky_

_She wanted those of wit and mind_

_Those with intelligence, I sort and find_

_Godric Gryffindor was brave and extremely gutsy_

_He only managed to live so long because he was lucky_

_Now those with foolhardy valour beware_

_I'm just nuts enough to put you there_

_Salazar Slytherin, whose expression was usually sour_

_Gave me specific orders to find those craving power_

_Sly and cunning, self above all others_

_These kids are bound to ruffle some feathers_

_And now that I've said my part_

_Take my words to heart_

_All fisrt years have some fear_

_This is going to be a bloody long year_

The hat finished it's piece, leaving the room quite stunned. Ron looked at Hermione and Harry. "Bloody hell! Is it just me or has that hat gone barmy?"

"He's grown bitter with old age." Hermione agreed as Professor McGonagall called the first first year up. "The song had no rhythm."

Harry chuckled. "I think he spent the better part of the summer in Snape's office."

-

The sorting and feast had come and gone. Some first years went to Hufflepuff, more went to Ravenclaw and the rest were probably split between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The Prefects were taking their houses to the dorms while the Heads followed Professor McGonagall to their rooms.

"Now, I expect you two to try to be civil to one another." She told them giving them a stern look as they reached a stone wall. "First you tap on these stones like so," she told them, knocking on three stones, revealing a portrait of a genie bottle. "You rub the lamp and when the woman in the portrait shows, tell her your password."

Sure enough a woman of Arabian descent peeked out from the smoke and murmured, "Password?"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said, "Blood Pops."

The portrait swung open and they entered to the common room.

"You can change the password tomorrow if you wish." She told them as she stopped in the centre of the room. "This shall be your common room for the year. It is quite bland in décor since your House colours don't go together and they 'clash', or so Dumbledore says. Your rooms though are in your respective colours."

The woman walked to a section slightly separated from the common room where there were 2 large portraits and a large door a good distance away from one another. "Mr. Malfoy your bedroom is to the left and Ms. Granger, yours is across from Mr. Malfoy's to the right. The door farther back from your rooms is your washroom. You both must share the washroom and inside your rooms is an adjoining door."

A knight came out of the shadows of Draco's portrait and introduced himself. "Good night my Lord and fair ladies." He bowed before looking at the blond. "What password do you wish for your door?"

McGonagall looked at the knight before saying, "Perhaps, later, when no one else is around, Sir Brandley."

"As you wish. I must attend to my steed if you are not in need of my service," answered the knight who turned and walked away.

The Professor looked at the both of them. "As you can see, you are both allowed privacy. It was the wish of the teachers that you do not…_harm_ one another during the night. You two have gotten quite a reputation for rather _explosive_ arguments."

Hermione blushed and looked down at her shoes. "Thank you for showing us to our rooms, Professor."

"You are quite welcome Ms. Granger." McGonagall nodded. "Now, I have other duties to attend to before I retire. Good night Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger."

With that she left them, walking out of the portrait.

Hermione stared after her Head of House before she looked at Malfoy. She didn't know why she felt awkward and a little shy around him. He was _Malfoy._ She saw him get turned into a _ferret_ for Merlin's sakes! She wasn't that should feel awkward! It should be him!

'_It's just because of that question he asked you,'_ she told herself. _'He didn't mean it but you usually don't talk about having…well…you know…with your arch enemy.'_

"Hermione, you should learn to close your thoughts when you're around me." Came the slow drawl close by her ear, making her shiver when she felt his hot breath.

Apparently she had been in such deep thought that Draco had been able to get closer. He backed away as Hermione glared at him and muttered, "We may decide to be civil Draco but I want at least 2 feet between us."

"Is being so close to my presence making you swoon, Granger, darling?" He smirked, his silvery eyes twinkling.

'_Since when did Malfoy's eyes twinkle? And since when did he call me darling?'_

"I thought I told you to close your mind, Hermione."

"Stop reading my mind! Get out! You're invading my privacy!"

"Oh come now. It's not my fault that you're so open and willing to share your thoughts with me…"

"I am not!" She shouted as she took a step closer to him, her finger pointed threateningly.

The boy took a step closer as he replied, "Well, you should share your thoughts. I mean, how do I know you're not plotting another scheme so that you can use my body."

Brown eyes widened and Hermione's jaw dropped. If it was anyone else, Hermione would've thought that the expression was comical but it was her and his comment was far from amusing. "I thought I told you already! I do _**not**_want your anything!"

"Of course you do. You wouldn't have already broken your two feet rule if you didn't." Draco chuckled as she looked down to find she was a toe away from crashing against him and when she looked at him, she finally realized they were too close. Far too close. "But I'm not really up to the exercise right now, Hermione. We've just had a long train ride and we still have to unpack. It's good to know you have plenty of stamina. You're going to need that. Any other time but tonight and you can have your way with me," he winked. "Now I'm going to go to my room and take my stuff out of my trunk."

She just stood there as he turned, her jaw once again slackened.

The Slytherin glanced back at her over his shoulder and grinned. "You might want to close your mouth, Granger. It's good to know it opens wide for things but a fly might go in…"

And with that he murmured a password into the knight, who just reappeared's, ear. He entered his room and while she was still standing there as still as stone, the portrait closed and he laughed.

Of course she heard all the way from outside.

"Get over yourself Malfoy!"

"Good night to you too, Hermione!"

-

The next morning Hermione snuck out of the room early so she wouldn't have to deal with Malfoy. If she had known that this was what being civil with him would be like, she would've stuck with being enemy numero uno. Hatred she could deal with. In fact, their verbal sparring was something she enjoyed but these innuendo's… well that was a whole other story.

She walked into the Great Hall and saw it was bare. Just as she was about to go sit at the Gryffindor table, she heard, "Were you trying to sneak away from me, Granger?"

Hermione turned to find the Slytherin Prince himself leaning against the wall looking at his fingernails. "I wasn't- I thought you were asleep still."

"You thought wrong." Was what he said before he walked away. "Did you have trouble sleeping, Hermione or are you really just that affected by me…"

The girl huffed when he tossed her an arrogant look. "Oh, go away Malfoy."

"For now." He told her. "I've got to eat, keep my energy up when I have to deal with you. Who knew you were such a feisty hellcat?"

"Bugger off, Malfoy." She yelled, loud enough for some of the Ravenclaws to glance up and stare at them before realizing it was just another Malfoy/Granger meeting. Those happened so frequently over the past that it was a common occurrence. Only the first years stared longer. "What?" Hermione snapped at them.

They turned away from the angry Head Girl and went back to their eating.

"You'll learn soon enough to forget that," whispered a 5th year to the younger ones. "That's nothing. One time last year I heard from my sister who's a 7th year with them now, that they startled a student during Potions class. Heard he blew up part of the class. Snape was _beyond furious._"

Hermione huffed as she passed by them and sat down at her table facing away from the Slytherins, though she did feel eyes boring into her intently from behind her. That wasn't because they were fighting. Neville _always_ blew up something or another in Potions. Snape scared him.

As other students poured in for breakfast and after a few comments about why she wasn't sitting in her normal place facing the Slytherin table, Hermione was able to relax with her friends and almost forget about the feeling she was being watched.

_Almost._

-

Potions was her first class of that day. She had finished the assignment and was now just thinking randomly of other things…Okay. Another person. A certain blond person. A certain blond Slytherin person. A certain blond Slytherin Head Boy.

Yeah yeah. Guilty as charged. She was thinking about Draco Malfoy. But it's not like she wanted to!

She glanced at him as he sat there writing on the other side of the room. His blond hair shone, even with the bad lighting and he was rather cute. _'Oh Merlin! I did _not_ just think that. Look away now Hermione, look away now. It's making you think evil thoughts. _Evil._ Why the heck am I not looking away? Okay just stop staring.'_ She told herself._ 'That's the first thing you're going to have to do. Stop staring. Stop.'_

That lasted for all of 1 minute before her brown eyes sought him out again._ 'Why can't I stop? Oh that stupid ferret! Ever since he made that comment... Those comments, actually… He couldn't have meant what it implied, right? Right?'_

Oh wonderful. Now she was starting to sound like a lovesick Lavender. Ugh! She got along fine with Lavender but she had no wishes to become a giggling school girl. That just wasn't her. She looked down at her books again and sighed.

'_Get over it Hermione and great Circe's stop with the bloody staring! If he looks over this way he'll know he's getting to you! Are you forgetting that he's a skilled Legilimens? He warned you last night to close your mind, so close your mind.'_

It's not as easy as it sounds, closing your mind. Instead she left a very good and clear message about what she _wasn't_ thinking about.

'_Malfoy, if you're reading my thoughts, I'm not thinking about you. Definitely not. I'm thinking about another blond haired boy who's in our Potions class.'_

Hermione shivered when she heard his voice in her thoughts. She should've known.

'_Of course you're thinking about someone else. I mean, what other boy do you call ferret?'_

When she felt that burning sensation, she knew he was staring at her again. This time she glanced up and met his gaze. They stared at each other, him with a big smirk on her face and her with a scowl.

'_I-well-get out of my thoughts, Ferret! Out! Out! Out!'_

'_I'm more then willing to oblige you, Granger, but before I go, just to tell you, you just called me ferret. Will that be my nickname, pet?'_

And as she silently fumed, she heard his laugh in her mind as he pulled out. Her eyes narrowed at him while he gave her a discreet wave.

She was about to march over there and smack him upside the head when Professor Snape said, "Class is over. You are dismissed. If you have not finished the notes, those of you who are too slow to keep up, get them for a class as you will be writing a 15ft essay on Dragon blood and it's purposes, origin etcetera."

The class filed out, Hermione surprisingly leading the way. She turned towards the staircases that would lead her to her Charms class with Ravenclaw. Just as she was about to turn the last corner to the stairs, she was pulled into a dark nook without anyone noticing. Even Harry and Ron were far too into Quidditch strategies to notice. That sure made a girl feel special…

She gasped when she was tugged in but then she heard the voice and saw the grey eyes. The girl was relieved but only marginally. Of course she was still upset with him over Potions.

"Why did you do that? I'm going to be late for Charms!"

"You have Charms in 20 minutes, Hermione." He murmured.

"How do you know my schedule?" She snapped. "It could be less, you know."

Draco smirked. "I've got my ways and it is 20 minutes. Now, I'm only here to tell you that you should stop distracting me during class. It's hard to concentrate when you're looking at me."

"Couldn't you have told me that in the hall? I can hardly see your face!"

"I can see just fine."

"Good for you," she told him dryly. "Now Malfoy, you might not have to prepare for a class but I do. If that's all, I'll just be going."

"Anxious to get away from me? What did I do?" Draco asked, an innocent look on his face.

Her glare was one that could kill. "You know what you did."

"I can't help it if you think about me but if it makes you feel better, I think about you too." He whispered to her as he tugged her closer to him. "I don't have Charms with you."

"Wonderful. I can forget about you-"

Malfoy cut her off. "Forget about me? I think not…"

And he kissed her.

-

-

-

**A/N: And that is the end of Chapter 4. I know it was a little rushed and the beginning wasn't up to my regular snuff but I had some writer's block. Actually, I rather liked this chapter though. As rushed as it was, I liked it. I didn't write about what their rooms looked like because I didn't want to focus too much on scenery in this chapter and more on the interaction of Draco and Hermione. I wanted to start boiling their chemistry.**

**And I got them to kiss! Yay!**

**I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Thanks to those that reviewed and please keep reviewing. I know it doesn't seem like a big thing but for me as an author, it gives me satisfaction to hear the people actually enjoy my story and are reading it. That they're taking the time to give me feedback and opinions. It helps me keep me wanting to keep going so please review. Please?**

**Now anyways, Q&A time. Aren't you pleased?**

**bloodoftheangels: I'm not very good at reviewing but I like how most of the character's are in character. and if I keep reviewing would you mind if I just write, another great chapter, since like I said I'm not good at reviewing**

**Ally:**_ Are you joking? It's totally fine. I'm just glad you're reviewing! It made me smile! You are one of the people that made my day!_

**frifri: It felt as if the first half of the chapter ( everything before the train basically) was a little rushed. Not rushed as in the plot, but more so your writing. It didn't have as much description as previous chapters have had or the other half of this chapter.**

**Ally: **_Good of you to notice. Yes, actually, some of it was rushed. It was pretty early in the morning when I wrote some of that. And thanks for the critique. Oh, and the compliment after! I'm glad you're liking the story._

**leaf-blossom: Other Veela stories?**

**Ally: **_I actually liked 'Veela Hell of A Week'. That's what got me to start thinking about writing this. I grew fascinated with the Veela and twisting it so Draco could be one. Plus, I really like it when Draco gets slightly jealous and possessive. I think it's cute._

**saor 31054: Where did you get the Veela information?**

**Ally:** _Some I made up and some I went to mugglenetDOTcom for. I've answered the question before and it's in the Q&A section on Chapter 2. Hope that helps!_

**Elven at Heart: But how can Draco get into Blaise's mind and talk to him?**

**Ally: **_Draco knows Legilimency and Occlumency in my story. It's basically the ability to read minds and Occlumency is the opposite. It let's you block people from entering your thoughts. There is mention of it in the books. If you want more info check mugglenetDOTcom. It's helpful for all Harry Potter needs._

**mistressdominique: How many chapters is this story expected to be?**

**Ally: **_I have no clue. Basically as many chapters as it gets to complete it to the point where I'm satisfied. Plus, most Veela stories are pretty short concerning Dramione. I want something that people can have time reading and isn't jumping from point to point so quickly. I want people to be able to read this and not make them feel so rushed. I'm pacing the story. We'll see how it goes. I think around 30 chapters maybe. That's not a permanent number though._

**Rose Mitzkah: When will Hermione know about Draco being a Veela?**

**Ally: **_Probably in the next chapter or the chapter after the next._

**Vinwinz: I just read the snippet. **

**Ally: **_I don't know if I'll snippet the next chapter but keep checking my site. I just haven't had enough time in the day for all of the updating and such with school. I'm one of the closet nerds. You know those girls that don't seem nerdy but get good marks without being perceived as the classic def. of nerd. I'm hoping to keep up with the fanfic updating though, even if I can't always post snippets up._

**Blueskyshymoon08: Blaise has a book about Hermione?…run spellcheck…**

**Ally: **_I know right? Definitely creepy… And I try! Really! It's just, some things get past my spellcheck. And I spell the word right but I use another word instead of the one I meant… you know. Like a homophone._

**Uncle Sevvy: Will Draco beat up Blaise?**

**Ally:** _As you can see, Blaise was safe this chapter. Who knows about the coming chapters though… With possessive, jealous Draco, anything can happen._

**Trory4ever: Put off by threatening to review…**

**Ally:** _Hehe. I know. I can be perceived as pushy when it comes to reviews. Sorry. That's just how I am at times and was when I was writing the Author's note. You don't have to review. It's just that I enjoy reading them and getting feedback. Thanks for reading. Oh, and your name. Trory. Are you a Tristan/Rory fan from GG? I'm a big Literati (Jess/Rory) fan more. But yay. A GG fan!_

**0-Jackie-0: What will happen at Hogwarts? Will Draco flip out when Ron and Harry are near her? Will Ginny help with the plan?**

**Ally: **_I usually don't spill my story secrets but you are one of my loyal reviewers so I'll totally spill this detail to you. Yes. ;) It's definitely in the works in one of my further chapters. And with Ginny? I think she'll help play a certain part but that's all the secrets. My lips are sealed after that._

**i love thorpe park: What are they waiting for?**

**Ally: **_Erm…I have no idea to what you're referencing to, sorry! It's bad of me, I know but if you're talking about the beginning, they're waiting for the train._

**And that's all the Q&A! If I forgot to answer your question you can totally bug me about it in your next review! Just say, Ally, you ditz, you forgot to answer me. Grr. Okay? Now, I hope you loved the chapter. Please review! And yay! 101 reviews on just 3 chapters. We're doing great with the reviewing! Thanks guys! You have made my day! Please review this chapter. At least 30 hopefully because it might be a while for me to update again with classes and all. Please review and run off and tell your friends about this totally amazing Veela Dramione story you read. Wow. I'm advertising myself. How redundant of me. But yay. This is my author's note. I get to blab. Review. Review. Review. Review if you love me or this story or both! Click the button.**

**Until the next chapter, my fab readers!**

**--Ally**

**  
**


	5. V

**A/N: Mellow! Wow. Another chapter has arrived. Horrah! I did this at odd moments during the times that I could. My History teacher reminds me of Professor Snape. The same stare and everything. It's eerie but I enjoyed Snape's character so I actually enjoy a class I normally hate. Anyways, enough about me and my nonsense. The reviews pretty much stated that I shouldn't have ended it where I left off. Cliffhanger, I know. Aha. It was evil but I decided to throw a big one in there. I'm wondering if you all recall that I have said this is my first HP fiction **_**ever.**_ **The support I'm getting. Thanks so much. I've even got my next fic planned up as soon as I finish this. You'll find out more about it in the bottom A/N if you're interested. Now, thanks to my reviewers. The people that keep me going. In order of latest to oldest: **

**i love thorpe park, TomRiddleishot!!!!!, Kueygirl, Mocha, samuella concepcion, frifri, Alexandraya, dramionerox, Bella Vanilla w/ Lemon Sorbet, lvswtht, firebirdflame, danielradcliffeobsessive, vampireluver3, blueskyshymoon08, NessaroseThroppgirl, purplecrazy2291, WinnieThaPoo92, Nullum Gratuitum, ginsensu, behindblueeyes1117, BlackDemonAngel, Panther Eyes, LollipopsandSunshine, Ninga Monkey - jellybeans, TheCocoaBean, Katia Dashwood, Bohema, nadia the demented one, stabbings, Jacqui, tamy, Vinwinz, Elven at Heart, BlueEyedDragonChild**

**First Reviewer: saor 30154**

**This chapter is dedicated to my reviewers who keep me going. Also my friends and family who are always there for me. You're all amazing and thanks for all those gifts. Can't wait to open them!**

**Now…to the chapter where you can see what happens to Dray and 'Mione.**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 5: Don't Touch Her!**

When Draco pulled away, Hermione was breathless. Worst of all, she was slightly shocked with herself and how she was acting. She, _Hermione Granger_, had kissed him, _Draco Malfoy_, back. In a dark part of the halls in the dungeons, no less! Slytherin territory!

The girl panted and she could hear him trying to breathe. She breathed in air as she tried to get her brain to function at it's normal pace. Good Circe's, what was happening to her?

That kiss had lasted for quite a while and she had done nothing to push him away like her first instinct would normally have told her to. In fact, while she was kissing him, she hadn't wanted to come up for air at all.

Hermione dared a peak at Malfoy and saw that though he was still quite as out of breath as she was, he had a satisfied smirk on his face. "I always knew that girls like you were more passionate than girls like Brown."

Her eyes flashed. "Girls like me?"

"You're one of a kind sweetheart." Draco assured her with a charming grin that somehow snagged at her heart. "But I'm just saying that girls like you who aren't desperate for a boy's attention."

"I-well… Stop it will you? This is very unlike you! Nicknames. Compliments. You're throwing me off, Malfoy!"

The blond continued grinning and his eyes told her he knew something she didn't. She had had the feeling before but she knew now that something was going on. What did he know?

"Oh, I know many things Granger. You'll find out all about it soon. I'm just waiting for the right moment…" Was his reply.

Hermione groaned. "Stop reading my thoughts. That's rude."

"Learn Occlumency than if you find it so uncomfortable. In fact, I'll be more than willing to teach you…" Came his reply.

"You're going to teach me something that will benefit me and take away a privilege from you?" There had to be a catch. The war might be over but he was still a Slytherin… What was the catch?

"Well, who said that the privilege would be taken away from me? I'm just doing it so others can't read you."

"If I learn Occlumency, which I have every intention of doing before the end of the day, it'll be strong enough to block you out." His expression was amused and she had to refrain herself from slapping it off of him. "I mean it Malfoy! Just watch me!"

"It's Draco, remember, darling?"

"Enough with the endearments!"

He stepped closer to her and she felt the hot breath on her face as he murmured, "I have no intention of stopping anything I'm doing."

The Head Girl stepped back and said, "There's a double meaning in that, M-Draco. Don't deny that there is."

"I wasn't going to deny anything. In fact I admit that there is a double meaning." Came his answer as he stared at her. "Now will you stop trying to forget the fact that we kissed and talk about it with me?"

Hermione met his gaze and told him, "There's nothing to discuss other than the fact that it won't happen again."

Draco laughed at the ridiculous notion. "Not happen again? I think you're quite wrong with that idea, pet. It will happen again _many_ more times. More frequently and far more intensely than that, I assure you."

The girl flushed and tried to come back with a witty comment but her jaw just wouldn't work with her. This was not a normal day for her at all.

"And while I have you speechless and unable to protest, tell Pothead, his redheaded animal sidekick and any other guy _besides me_ that comes along to keep their hands to themselves before I personally remove them. I don't care if they do not know the meaning of personal space. Hands off. This goes for everyone, do you understand me, pet? We wouldn't want any injuries occurring, would we?"

Brown eyes ignited with fury. "What do you mean _hands off_? No other guy _besides you_?"

"I mean it, Granger." He told her, his eyes still dark. "Either they learn to keep their hands off or I teach them that lesson myself."

"What do you really want with me Malfoy?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. What was going on with him?

"That's something to discuss later." Draco told her as his eyes started to revert back into their normal colour.

"This conversation is going nowhere." She muttered and before her eyes widened. "You bloody prat! You're making me late for Charms!"

The Head Boy shook his head. "You've been hanging around the Weasels for far too long that you've even picked up their vocabulary."

"They are not the _Weasels_ Draco!" She protested. "In fact, if you remember the Ferret incident in fourth year, though how could you forget that I don't know. Anyway, Ferrets are in the same family as Otters and We-"

"You're going to be late for Charms." Was his bland, monotone reply.

Remembering that fact she turned and was about to run before he snagged her hand, making her turn to face him again. "What now, ferret? You're making me even more late!"

He kissed her forehead and looked her in the eye when he pulled away. "I'm the only one who can be this close or do that so remember my warning, Granger."

She didn't know how to reply so she simply stared at him for a moment before pulling herself away and running off.

-

Hermione glared at her desk as she took a seat at the front of her Charms class. She could've just killed Malfoy. Than she'd do it to herself. How stupid could she be for kissing him?

And of course, like every hormonal and extremely frustrated student, she banged her head against her desk rather loudly. Ugh! She'd never hear the end of it from him. For heavens sake, she kissed him back! Plus if anyone saw them do, well, erm -you know what they did- it'd be all over the school.

It wasn't even noon on the first day of classes and she'd already be gossiped about. Especially those damn first years. Nosier than ever. Just look at how they were this morning. _'They should learn to keep out of other people's lives.'_ She thought huffily. _'Couldn't they have eaten their eggs instead of staring at us like we were the Fat Lady _trying_ to sing Opera? That's a show. _I'm_ not.'_

Her dark thoughts about meddlesome people came to a halt as Neville tentatively took a seat next to her, eyeing her frightened. She turned her dark eyes to look at him curiously. "Is everything alright, Neville?"

"Erm, yeah, Hermione."

She smiled at him and made a gesture for him to sit down. "Why are you so afraid, Neville? We're not in Potions anymore."

He looked embarrassed for just a moment before whispering to her, "I know that, Hermione. It's just, well, everyone in class is a little afraid of you at the moment and this was the only seat left."

She looked around to find that it was in fact true. Everyone avoided looking at her and had taken seats far from her. Even Harry and Ron who gave her a weak and guilty look had taken seats at the back.

"You looked like you were trying to burn your desk or something. Lavender said that you had a dark and broody aura," answered the boy.

The girls eyes widened and she looked sheepish. "Well, sorry Neville. I just had an encounter with Malfoy, is all."

It seemed everyone had heard that comment and she felt all the fear and wariness ease out of the room. Come on now. Was her fighting with Malfoy _that_ common that no one cared if he had caused her some emotional trauma?

'_He caused emotional trauma, alright but it was the good kind.'_ A voice in her mind sang. _'And _you_ enjoyed every breathless moment of it.'_

Hermione was startled at the voice. _'Who are you? Please tell me this isn't you again, Draco. I swear to Merlin that I am going to learn Occlumency the moment lunch rolls around. This is getting-'_

'_I'm not Malfoy.'_ The voice said snootily. _'_I_ happen to be _your_, how shall I put it, advisor…'_

'…_My conscience?'_

'_Well if you want to put it into that overused phrase than fine. I'm your 'conscience'.'_

She could've sworn that she saw her conscie- erm, advisor, make air quotes around the term conscience.

'_I did make air quotes around the word conscience.'_ It told her. _'By the way, yes, I did just roll my eyes at you.'_

'_Hearing voices in your head isn't good. Especially when you can picture them. Go away. Professor Flitwick just walked in and I want to catch my lesson.'_

'_Lesson-shmesson. You've already learned enough.' _Her inner voice told her.

'_You make a lousy advisor.'_ She thought. _'You're supposed to help me make _wise_ decisions.'_

'_Fine. Fine. Be a good student. Get a good job.'_ It muttered. _'You know, the most airheaded people in the world, their advisors are never lonely. They never get put off for work or anything. Particularly girls that daydream the most, their advisors almost always have company instead of being shoved off for notes and things. Plus most people would feel happy they can skip doing work without feeling guilty. No. I get to be stuck in the bookworm.'_

Hermione bit back the urge to bang her head against a desk and hopefully knock this voice unconscious. _'I'm starting to act like Draco, except I don't have conversations with myself… At least not outloud.'_

'_Well at least _he_ pays attention to _his_ advisor. I pop up and not even a few seconds later, you tell me to go away. How rude.'_

'_I'm not in the mood. Go. Keep Draco's voice company for all I care.'_

'_I just might.'_ The voice thundered huffily. _'And see if I come back!'_

'_I could care less…'_

'_Of course you could. You wouldn't be any fun anyway. All you're going to think about is your stupid boyfriend and the kiss he gave you in the hallway. You raunchy teenagers.'_

'_He's not my boyfriend and I wasn't even going to think about _that_! Or _him_!'_

'_Uh huh. For the smartest witch of your day, you sure are stupid. He even gave you hints… I'm so glad I'm not the real you…'_

'_Huh… You just said you were my conscience!'_

'_Oh that? I lied. I'm the part of your brain that's sarcastic and at times very witty. Your conscience just needed to take a break in the little personalities room.'_

'…_I don't even want to ask…'_

'_Shouldn't you be taking notes or something?'_

She looked up to see Professor Flitwick sitting at his desk speaking while everyone wrote down notes from their textbooks… _'Go away! I'm way behind in my writing!'_

'_You're no fun. But fine. It's not like you'll be able to take down notes anyway…You'll be daydreaming of your lover.'_

'_He's not my lover!'_

The voice had already popped out of her head though and she sighed but opened her books and tried writing down notes. _Tried_ being the keyword.

It appears her sarcastic self was right after all.

-

When Draco's Ancient Runes class ended, he and Blaise walked up to Hermione's Charms classroom since the blond had insisted that they go.

"Why do you need to pick up Hermione when she's in our next class anyway?" Blaise asked as they walked down an empty hall.

Grey eyes alight with arrogance and mischief stared back at him before his friend answered, "We just do."

"I know that look, Draco." He muttered as he shook his head. "What did you do this time? Please tell me you didn't do the whole 'get-me-and-her-in-detention-alone-together' scheme because the last time you did it, it backfired and it made her hate you _more_ than she already did which was a lot."

They reached the hallway where Hermione's class was located and Draco looked at his friend and smirked. "She doesn't seem to hate me. I mean, take this morning for instance. A girl who hated a guy wouldn't kiss him back, would she?"

Blaise's mouth gapped open wide. Had he heard right? "_She_ kissed _you?_"

"Well why wouldn't she?" The Malfoy asked huffily. "I'm brilliant, gorgeous and rich. Plus, she is secretly in love with me… She just doesn't know it."

"…You move fast, don't you Dray? Now if only we had any momentum _four years_ ago…"

He earned a fierce glare as his friend replied, "Successful plans take time…"

"Anyways…" The dark haired Slytherin muttered, "You got her to kiss you, huh?"

"And Blaise let me tell you…"

And the two launched on into a talk that wouldn't be good for virgin ears to hear. Ahh… Boys and their blabber… It was almost as bad as a girl going to an all girls Catholic school and hearing what they talk about… _Almost._

-

"You may leave now but remember to practice the wrist motions. Especially you, Mr. Weasley and Longbottom." Called Professor Flitwick as the class started to pack up and file out.

Hermione was gathering her things when she heard a familiar voice. "Sorry we didn't sit near you this morning, Hermione."

She looked up and stared into Harry's green eyes and than turned to see Ron standing right next to him. "It's alright, you guys."

"What was with you this morning, 'Mione?" Ron asked. "You looked even worse than Snape did when Seamus spilt that potion on his skin making him look pink all day."

The Head Girl flushed. "I'm sure I wasn't that bad this morning and besides, it was just a run in with Malfoy, is all."

"Did that git do something to you, 'Mione?" The boys asked her, turning serious as they walked out the door.

Harry laid a hand on her shoulder and made her turn to face him. "If it was him, 'Mione, than all you have to do is tell us. We'll do something."

"What you'll do, Pothead, is get your bloody hands off of her." A cold voice muttered darkly from behind the boy.

The trio turned to face an angry Draco Malfoy with one Blaise Zabini trying and failing to restrain him. His eyes were dark, stormy and his expression was a fierce snarl as he walked towards them.

Big and curious brown eyes watched his approach and he met her gaze for a moment. _'I thought I told you to warn them…'_ She shivered at the anger under the calm tone she heard.

His eyes stared at hers for a second longer before they moved to the hand that was still on her shoulder. Draco's gaze moved to Harry's face and she felt Harry stiffen slightly. "Can't understand English, Potter? Didn't I just tell you to get your bloody hands off of her?"

"Why do you care, Malfoy?" Her friend asked though he did remove his hand.

Hermione stepped forward when she saw Draco stepping even closer, looking even more upset and dangerous. "Draco, really. It's just Harry."

"Since when did you call him Draco?" Ron asked, his blue eyes snapping towards her.

She groaned in frustration. Would these boys ever grow up? "I call him Draco because we called a truce. The war is over, Ron."

"Still! He's a bloody git, Hermione, or have you forgotten?" He snapped.

Draco grabbed Hermione's hand and tugged her behind him, his gaze riveted on her two best friends. "Don't give her that tone, Weasel. Some people just snap out of it and move on to bigger and better things." He said, sizing Ron up.

"No one asked you, you arsehole!" Yelled Ron, his hands clenching into fists. "And let go of her!"

Harry was already one step ahead though and had grabbed Hermione's other hand. "Come on, 'Mione. We'll talk later but lets get you away from this slimey bastard."

"She stays with me," told Draco in a dark baritone. "In other words, St. Potter, it means fuck off."

"Would either of you care to let go of me?" Hermione bit out but none of them seemed to hear her except Blaise. "Let go! I only have a few minutes to get onto the grounds for Care of Magical creatures!"

It appeared that the two, who were still fighting mind you, didn't hear her or were ignoring her. Draco looked ready to lunge for Harry's throat and Blaise groaned from behind Hermione and the blond. She turned to face him. _'Help me,'_ she mouthed.

He cleared his throat and said, "I think it would help if you both let go of Hermione, seeing as you're both hurting her."

That got their attention and they let go of her. Well, Harry did. Draco just loosened his hold on her hand slightly. "I'm telling you this now Potter, and it's only because Hermione cares about you that I am. I'd love for an excuse to tear you apart but she wouldn't want that to happen so here's what you're going to do. You're going to back off and get lost. Don't even go near her, you understand me? That goes for you too, Weaselbee."

"How about you get lost Malfoy!" Ron muttered and took a swing at Draco and just as Draco prepared to take the blow and make sure to come back, Hermione who had missed the fact that Ron was going to hit him, went in front of him to stop the fighting.

-

Blaise watched it as if it was almost slow motion. Draco was warning them off as Weasley started to make a fist. Potter placing his hand on his friend's shoulder as he tried to calm him down. Weasley shouting out a remark of his own and taking a swing just as Hermione stepped in between them.

She cried out in pain as the blow hit her straight in the face. There seemed to be a sickening crack of bone and it was quiet for a moment as he watched Draco hold her, steady her. The look on his face told Blaise what was going to happen next.

Weasley was dead.

Draco was beyond rage, his eyes had glazed over past pitch black. Red started seeping in until his friend looked like an avenging dark angel.

Weasley was going to die.

-

Something inside of Draco snapped. He knew he wasn't fully human at the moment, not with what he was feeling. Somewhere deep inside him, he felt this incredible pain that seemed to fuel his anger, his wrath.

He had always known Weasley was a stupid idiot. That was probably one of the few things he had learned from his father and was proven true. The fucking bastard had hurt her and caused her pain. No one was allowed to hurt her.

_No one._

And as much as he warred with this need to get retribution against the person that had harmed her, that had put her in this pain, he needed to make sure that she was okay. A possessive part of him told him not to let anyone touch her, get close enough to harm her, but at the moment he fought it away.

When he saw the boy look sick after he saw what he had done, a dark part of him felt glad. He wanted the idiot to feel guilty for the pain he had caused. Weasley had hurt his mate and when he stepped forward, he also heard the boy whisper, "Oh Merlin, Hermione! I'm so sorry."

Ron tried to reach out and get her but Draco wouldn't have any of that.

"Get away from her!" He yelled and he cradled her closer to him, bending down and picking her up bridal style. "You've done enough."

Draco started to walk away but before he did, he turned his red gaze upon the redheaded boy and muttered darkly, "We'll finish this later, Weasley."

-

Blaise watched as Draco started into a run to get Hermione to the infirmary. The Veela blood was almost complete in changing him. A Veela's first instinct is to make sure their mate was safe but after it was assured, most Veela's wanted to shed blood. It appeared, from the almost glacial tone his friend's voice had taken on, that Weasley was Draco's target.

Yeup. Weasley was dead.

-

**A/N: The shortest chapter I've written and not the best… Very rushed but I have valid reason! It's my birthday this Sunday and I wanted to get this posted before than. Oh, and a fact for any who want to know… Tom Felton, the guy that plays Draco Malfoy in the movies, his birthday is the day before mine…Sept. 22. So yay! Haha. The Catholic school girls comment is because I go to a school like that. You should hear what we say. It'll make a Sailor Blush. **

**Now, writers block is hitting me… Give me ideas on what should happen in the next chapter.**

**Tell me if you liked this chapter but if you don't, no flames. Constructive criticism is appreciated though. Hope school is going good. I'm being buried in work… **

**The next DMHG fanfic I'm doing is either a Drama or a Romantic Comedy. The drama has no name but the comedy I think I'll call 'Oh Merlin! I love my wife?' I love that title… Tell me if you're interested in your review!**

**Q&A TIME!**

**saor31054: ****You haven't answered my question! Where did you get the Veela information?**

**Ally: **_I did answer your question! Okay, just go to the second chapters Q&A and I answer the question about the Veela info! Basically some I made up and twisted to my manipulations and the other I got from a website called mugglenetDOTcom okay? I hope that helps…_

**Pstibons: ****Why is Hermione feeling anything for Draco? Is it just hormonal lust, the Veela charm, or her own free will?**

**Ally: **_Draco answered that. She's secretly in love with him but she hasn't realized it yet. That's why I was given authoress powers and intervened! Yay me! Hehe… Anyways, really, all that fighting was really their way of courtship… Sexual tension that is about to pop! And she feels something for him of her own free will. Veela charm only works for so long. They'll only be in love for the outward appearances but she's falling for him for more than that charm. Veela charm isn't strong enough to make someone love them truly. This is, as sappy as it sounds, a story of true love._

**nadia the demented one: How tall are Draco and Blaise?**

**Ally: **_Draco is about 6'2" and Blaise is about 6'3" - 6'4" ish…_

**Bohemo: Pardon my French…**

**Ally: **_I'm Canadian… I'm learning French and my French is way more awful than your English. Your sentences in English were more brilliant compared to mine in French would ever be! Don't sweat it and thanks for the review!_

**TheCocoaBean: ****The sorting hat song! How long did it take you to write that?! **

**Ally: **_It took me about 30-40 minutes… I think. I'm not sure… But yeah… It was sooooo fun to write and far more original. Hehe._

**Panther Eyes: ****I didn't think Draco would move so quickly. I wonder how Hermione will react to it?**

**Ally: **_She's reacting pretty well, I would say… Hehe…_

**BlackDemonAngel: ****Do Harry and Ron find out about Draco being a Veela?**

**Ally: **_They will in a later chapter… Hermione of course will share it since they are her best friends and his behaviour will get more intense in later chapters…_

**ginsensu: ****I think that Draco is going about the wrong way to win Hermione.**

**Ally: **_Aww…but his way is so much more interesting._

**Nullum Gratuitum: ****I think, though, Draco is really OOC. But considering the whole not-controlled-by-father-anymore and lusting-Veela perspective, I think I can forgive.**

**Ally: **_Thank you for forgiving me. OOC Draco is more fun to work with._

**firebirdflame: ****How many chapters is this story gonna be?**

**Ally: **_I answered this question in the last Q&A so look for my answer there!_

**frifri: -Insert fab review-**

**Ally: **_You're review really put a smile on my face… Hmm… I think I'll dedicate this chapter to you… Enjoy!_

**Mocha: **When will the next chapter come?

**Ally: **_The next chapter has arrived!_

**Okay guys, review, thanks for reading and please, when asking questions, make sure that I haven't already answered them! Please! Thanks so much. It's not so much that I get annoyed as it takes up so much time to look for where I put my answer… Read and Review! Oh, and tell your friends to read and review! Plus, tell me what you think of the other stories I have in the works!**

**Click the review button!**

**Much love to all, Ally**

**P.S. If you have a Facebook and are a supporter of Canada or live in Canada and are proud to be Canadian, join the group Canada vs. America - The count to one million! I'm Canadian and am proud so I hope to see you there!**


	6. VI

**A/N: Wow… Long time no write. I'm really sorry but I had some major writer's block and I had no idea what to do about it. Than, all of a sudden it hit me during my school's pep rally. The cheering made me temporarily deaf but it got the wheels inside my head turning. Now everything seems to be flowing out… Hopefully you enjoy this next part of the story…**

**Your treat from me is this next chapter and my reward will be your reviews! So… Speaking of reviews…**

**Reviewers (order of most recent to oldest):**

**Devatron2000, Tiger-Samba, Undead Fantasy, tammy, x-DracoxHermione-TrueLove-x, Dyien, Ashley, Darkness-Lightness, Phelix, Grace Cullen, kait, Handswapple, lvswtht, sailorashes, Coacoa, Emily, Sukie-san, LollipopsandSunshine, spring-embers, Cora Zabini, silvertwilight, Disara, dramionerox, Elven at Heart, sixteesecake, Ashley, Nullum Gratuitum, Thelxepiae, Panther Eyes, Diamond Enchantress, Isiss2868, katreena, Banana Flavored Eskimo, 0-Jackie-0, Vinwinz, Sarina Malfoy 22, leaf-blossom, Poeta, Alexandraya, Katia Dashwood, Balpreet Kaur, WinnieThaPoo92, luvHaru7, Frex, bluebear13sg**

**First Reviewer: BlackDemonAngel**

**Here's the long awaited 6****th**** chapter to '**_**Oh My Veela!'**_

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 6: Conflict of Interest**

Draco ran as fast as he could to the infirmary, Hermione safely tucked in his protective arms. She was in pain, her nose was trickling blood and she was losing consciousness from the force of Weasley's blow.

'_As soon as she's alright I'll deal with Weasel,' _he thought as he hugged her closer to him.

In no time at all, Draco was at Madame Pomfrey's and he nearly petrified the woman to death when his booming voice yelled out, "Madame Pomfrey!"

The mediwitch of the school jumped to attention and ran frantically over to him. "For heavens sake, Mr. Malfoy, why are you yelling?"

"Hermione."

She looked at the young woman in her arms and cried out. "Oh good gracious, Mr. Malfoy, what did you do _this time_?"

His glare was severe, his voice was low and he answered her coldly. "I didn't do anything to her. I wouldn't hurt Hermione in this lifetime or the next and I would think better on assuming that I had anything to do with her being injured."

Her eyes met his and she was shocked at the pure uninhibited emotion she saw in his gaze. "Well, Malfoy, we're not going to do her any good by just standing there. Put Ms. Granger on a bed and tell me what happened to her."

"Weasel punched her in the face."

"Mr. Weasley?" The woman asked skeptically though she didn't look at him and moved to check on the Head Girl. "I know the boy has a temper but Ms. Granger is one of his closest friends. What really happened Mr. Malfoy?"

"Weasley was aiming a punch at me since we were having a tiff in the hall outside her Charms class. Hermione didn't want a scene so she stepped in between and she got hit instead."

"Well that explains it." Madame Pomfrey accioed for some water and a washcloth to wash off the blood on Hermione's face. "Why didn't Mr. Potter or Mr. Weasley bring Ms. Granger in, instead?"

"As if I'd let those two bumbling buffoons touch her…" Draco grinded out of his clenched teeth, his blood bubbling violently at the mere thought of anyone touching her but him. "Is she going to be alright?"

Madame Pomfrey nodded and murmured a spell to fix Hermione's broken nose. "All she needs now is some rest and she'll be fine. I'll keep her just to make sure but I think that you should get to class before you get mixed up in any more trouble."

"I'm not leaving her," the blond stated firmly.

"That's not an option, Mr. Malfoy," snapped the mediwitch. This boy was far too accustomed to getting his way and she was adamant that he didn't get it this time. This was an infirmary, for Merlin's sake, she needed some peace to get any work done and the tension wafting off of him just wouldn't do to soothe the wounded. "She needs her rest and the best thing you could do for her is let her have it."

He rolled his smoky eyes towards the ceiling and muttered, "I'm not going to disturb her, Madame Pomfrey. I just want to be here when she wakes up. What if she needs something and I'm not here to get it for her?"

"Mr. Malfoy, the moment she wakes up I'm going to give her a sleeping draught so she'll have some more rest. She needs more colour back in her cheeks and her body needs time to make up for the blood it's lost. Ms. Granger would probably appreciate it more if you got all of her assignments for her. That'll be all she'll likely need."

Draco growled in frustration. The woman was not going to let him win.

'_You can always finish off Weasel…'_ he thought and he was less reluctant to leave Hermione's side. He and the bastard had some unfinished business to be taken care of.

An added bonus was that she wouldn't see the fight at all. _'She'd be mad if she saw you two dueling anyway… That wouldn't do. We have to stick to the schedule and that'd just set us back a few days, a week at most. It's better if she doesn't know about it.'_

Making up his mind, he heaved an unenthusiastic sigh and nodded begrudgingly. "Fine. I'll leave for now, but I'll be here every moment after classes are over."

When he reluctantly walked out of the infirmary she sighed and spoke to the sleeping girl. "And I thought Potter and Weasley were bad."

-

Blaise looked at Hermione's two goons with frustration and he was hard-pressed not to choke them. Draco probably wouldn't appreciate that he kill them first. He'd probably get even more mad and up killed by the Veela himself. No, he'd leave the maiming to Draco.

"Do you two _always _have to be idiots?" He snapped at them. "You're almost as bad as Crabbe and Goyle!"

"Where do you get off, Zabini?" Weasel asked him angrily.

He gave the boy a pointed look before muttering darkly to himself, "Lets see if I save him from Draco… No one would miss him… Well, maybe Ginny and Hermione but we can always buy them a horse."

'_Horses sound better than Weasel anyways. Look better too. Don't know how Ginny's related to him. Not much for conversation either… A horse would definitely be better for them… Girls like horses, don't they? Well, ponies. But they've probably grown out of their pony stage… Horses will do… More useful than these two at least.'_

"Zabini! We're talking to you!" Harry shouted at him. "Are you too stupid to reply?"

"No. I'm just trying to forget that I have that I have the two most annoying Gryffindorks in my midst You know, like amnesia. It's what you two have except while mine is temporary, yours is permanent. Neither of you two seem to have your acts together at all. You dress like slobs, you eat like pigs and granted, you aren't as thick as Crabbe and Goyle, at least they know when to shut up." He retorted. "And another thing, Pothead, the most stupid thing someone can ever do is hit their best friend."

Ron growled in loathing. "I didn't mean to hit her!"

"Rest assured though, Weasel, that Draco has every intention of hitting you and at the moment I don't feel like trying to save your fat arse. I should probably just let him murder you." The Slytherin bit out.

Harry stepped forward. "Is that a threat Zabini?"

"Yes, Boy Wonder, it is." Blaise told him not fazed at all with the tactic for intimidation. "That heroic front may work for other people but your eyes give you away Potter. Too scared to fight the big bad Slytherin?"

The boy-who-wouldn't-die's eyes flashed. "I'm not afraid of you, you sick bastard."

Blaise smirked. "Didn't say you should be afraid of _me_ but I think you should be afraid of what someone else might do to you. Learn how to might or better yet, go see Madame Pomfrey and see if she can grow you both a whole brain. You can split it since that amount of intelligence might already be too hard for you to comprehend. And while you're on your heroic quest Potter, since you're so fond of them, maybe you should help Weasel keep better tabs on his sister."

The two Gryffindors clenched their fists. "You leave my sister out of this!"

"We'll see." And with the arrogant flare that only Slytherins could pull off after having a juvenile threatening match, he walked off but not before turning and looking at them. "You best watch your backs… especially you Weasel-breath. There are things already going on that neither of you two can prevent. I suggest you let them happen."

-

Hermione blinked her eyes and saw the room around her spinning. _'Where am I?'_ She looked around and tried to get her eyes to stop blurring.

"Ms. Granger, good, you're awake." A woman's voice said smoothly. "I just shoved your keeper out the door but he promised he'll come back to harass you after his classes."

"K-Keeper?" She asked weakly. Was that her voice? It sounded strained and scratchy. Her brown eyes met those of another and she realized that she was in the infirmary. "Madame Pomfrey… will you be ready to release me?"

"Heavens no, child!" She answered. "I cannot let you go in your condition! I wouldn't dream of it. Now open your mouth and swallow the draught… you need more rest."

The brunette witch shook her head. "No, I need books, get to class. Malfoy will… and Ron…" It seemed that her brain was too weary to organize her thoughts. "I need-"

"Rest. Yes you do." The mediwitch nodded she agreed as Hermione reluctantly took the potion she was being given. "I'm sure your Professors won't mind if you are not in class for one day."

The girl still protested no matter how much she really wanted to close her eyes. "No, Madame Pomfrey… I can't stay. Malfoy will…"

"He'll be back in the afternoon so I suggest you sleep. He'll be here before you know it and maybe then you will have your coherent ability back."

She gave up though begrudgingly. _'But he seemed upset. Ron didn't mean to but Malfoy was really angry… And coherent ability… Is that even proper grammar? Honestly, she's like one of the professors here and…'_

The young woman fell asleep with thoughts of a large snowy white ferret tattooed with the word grammar stomping on a fluffy red weasel with coherent labeled on it.

Ahhh… Such wonderful uses of the English language.

-

Draco met Blaise as he walked outside for Care of Magical Creatures. Neither of them were in a good mood and they walked out together brooding, looking very much like a yummy picture you could label _'Slyther-In-My-Bed'_.

They were tall, angry and mysterious and had many of the 3rd year girls who were heading up to the castle sigh the sigh of a school girl fantasy come to life.

The two stayed behind everyone else in their class and Blaise had to pull Draco away from Weasley. The moment that the blond had seen a touch of that red, he had the sudden urge to kill.

"I'm going to get him back for what he did to her, Blaise." He told his friend as he tried to prevent the searing hatred from unleashing… at least until class was over.

His friend nodded. "I swear I don't know how she lasted with those two as her friends for this long…"

Malfoy smirked arrogantly as he said, "Well, I eased her way…"

Blaise snorted. "Ha! You probably made it worse what with your taunting her and all those verbal arguments."

Draco sniffed indignantly. "I'll have you know," he said in an arrogant tone, "that those 'verbal arguments' was our way of flirtation and too much unused sexual tension."

"You," the dark haired boy smirked, clapping his friend on the shoulder, "are a _moron._ Either that or you're pussy whipped."

The blonde glared at him and shrugged away. "Oh fuck off, Zabini."

"I can't. Someone's got to make sure you don't kill Weasley." Was the simple reply.

The two stared at the redhead and Potter. Malfoy's hand clenched into a tight fist and his wand hand tingled, tempting him to attack the boy, that he deserved it for hurting her. "He hurt her, Blaise. He made her bleed… When I got her to Madame Pomfrey she was unconscious and pale…"

Zabini looked at his friend's darkened expression, the stormy gaze bleeding red. "Draco, calm down. Don't make a scene."

"I'll try to wait until class is over but I'll make you no guarantees." He growled low and deep. "He _hurt_ her."

-

When class was over, Draco waited for Weasley and Potter. The two were last as always and he waited for them behind the shadows of the trees with Blaise. As the two came up the slope of the hill, he popped out in front of them, cutting them off.

"What do you want now, Malfoy?" Asked Potter as he grabbed his wand from his pocket.

The blond gave him a defiant stare, his eyes like a raging downpour, wild and unsettling as he held his wand, Zabini behind him.

"I think, Potter, that as much of an idiot as you are, you'll learn to not meddle in things that are _none of _your_ business._" He hissed.

Weasley rolled up his sleeves and gave Harry a nod to back off a little before staring at their childhood nemesis. "Gonna fight me, ferret? No one is here to protect you. I doubt you and Zabini even know how to fight. Your daddy's aren't here."

In a blink of an eye, Ron's crystal gaze met the dark red irises of Draco Malfoy. He was lifted off the ground rather easily and Weasley took the first swing, his fist colliding with the Slytherin's jaw.

"I-don't-need-my-father." He ground out as he hit Weasley back. "And I'm not here for him either. I'm here for Hermione."

"She's none of your concern!" Ron yelled.

They fought for a while and there wasn't even a need for spells, but merely fists as punch after punch was delivered. This was all basically a fist fight. Blaise and Harry, no matter how much they wanted to interfere, knew not to and stood on the sidelines waiting for a sign that their friend might need them.

Blaise wasn't scared for Draco's safety though but more for what Draco might do. In all his years, Draco hadn't seemed as angry as he was today when Hermione was hurt. His Veela senses were strong and it appeared that he was mastering them rather quickly.

He pinned Weasley down and uttered words only for his ears. "I don't know if you realize this Weasley but I at this moment have the power to kill you and there is a certain law that will allow me to bypass Azkaban. You are wrong. She is _my_ concern, not _yours._ The only reason I'm not killing you is because you are one of her best friends, Merlin only knows why, and it would hurt her if you were gone but know this, if you _**ever**_ _hurt her again_, I will not hesitate to do some pest control."

And he pulled away from the boy and got up and turned his back on him just as the few students coming for their class started making their way to Hagrid's hut. Ron stood up and glared. "What do you want with her, Malfoy?" He yelled as Draco walked off, conversing with Blaise.

The Slytherin turned his head slightly and yelled, "Guess."

-

Blaise sighed as he finished his last class and packed up. The whole school had apparently found out about the fight that happened outside. A few stupid first years apparently had seen the last few moments of the brawl and since he was there and was one of Draco's best friend, he had been ambushed with questions.

One of the Patil twins and Lavender Brown were especially curious as to what was going on and why they were fighting. Apparently that was the _only_ piece of information that everyone knew but they wouldn't leave it at that. The gossip chasers were going to hound down on him if he stayed for one place too long. A few blissful moments of solitude in the dungeons seemed like heaven.

Slytherins knew better than to ask for information from another Slytherin. It was a fact that they'd probably lie to you anyway.

He was out the door and closed it behind him since he was the last one out. When he turned around he found a wand pointed at his face.

His dark gaze met those of the brown eyes that haunted his dreams. _Ginny Weasley._

"What do you want, Red?" He asked her lightly, amused at her display more than threatened.

She growled angrily at the name. "What did you do to my brother?"

Blaise smirked at her. Hmm… She was cute when she was mad but than, he thought she was cute all the time. Even if she had her wand pointed at his face. "I didn't do anything to him, Red."

"Stop calling me Red!" Ginny snapped out. "Now tell me what the hell did you do?"

"Calm down and put your hand away." The Slytherin said as he leaned against the door. "I'm telling you I did nothing. Pothead can even vouch for that. Honestly, I didn't touch him. I merely watched from the sidelines."

"That's bull."

"I assure you that it's not so put your damn wand away."

The 6th year looked at him suspiciously before putting it away in a pocket of one of her robes. She eyed him for a moment before asking, "What the hell were you all fighting about now anyway, Zabini? What does Malfoy want with Hermione? Don't tell me it's none of my concern because I will hex you into the next time period if you give me any of that."

Ahhh… A firecracker. No wonder he liked her, no wonder she was friends with the opinionated Hermione Granger.

"Hmm… Well, it will all be revealed in due time, I believe." He told her. "It's not my place to tell you. Now let us move on from this topic of discussion and onto another subject. Are you still chasing after Potter or have you finally realized that you aren't in love with the idiot?"

"That's none of your concern, Zabini, just like my friend is none of Malfoy's concern." And with that she turned away from him and walked down the long hall, her footsteps light and quiet.

His gaze followed her retreating back. "That's where you are wrong, Ginny. Definitely wrong."

-

Draco was just glad his classes were done and he could get back to Hermione. He turned down a few corridors and stared down at anyone who gave him questioning glances. They all wanted to know what he and the Weasel talked about but they were smart enough to know that he was not the one to ask on that issue.

He reached the infirmary with no trouble at all and many pairs of eyes on his back when the mediwitch saw him. She seemed to give a quick grimace before replacing it with her normal tight expression.

Madame Pomfrey inclined her head. "I see you've come returned, Mr. Malfoy."

He nodded mutely. "I told you that I would be. Is she awake?"

"Yes, Ms. Granger has just woken up after I administered the sleeping draught. You may stay for a while until I need to give her a bit more so she can rest."

The Slytherin conceded before turning to find her. She was sitting up against the pillows with a sour expression on her face as she saw him.

What'd he do?

He peered into her mind and found that it was all a jumbled mess of angry thoughts. There were many comments on ferrets, blonds and Slytherins. Of course she had many more. Not just about him though, but of some _'stupid airheads that couldn't mind their own business.'_

'_I know you're in here Malfoy but I'd appreciate it if you'd shove off.'_

'_What'd I do now?'_

"What you did was beat up Ron!" The brunette bit out. "Are you insane? What the hell were you fighting with him about now?!"

"Who the hell told you?"

"Lavender and Parvati! They came in here asking why you and Ron were punching the lights out of one another but that's not important! Why the hell were you two fighting?!"

"It doesn't matter what we were fighting about." He told her. "It's settled now but I want you to stay away from that walking disaster before he hurts you again!"

Hermione glared angrily. "What right do you have to tell me what I can or cannot do and who I should see? Last time I checked, you weren't my keeper and we hated each other!"

"Well the last time you checked you were _wrong!_" He snapped back.

The muggle-born was now livid. "I report to no one!"

"Wrong again." Draco growled.

By now the two were shouting and causing a commotion. He saw that people were staring so he pulled the curtain around her bed closed put a silencing spell before continuing their heated argument.

"Honestly, Malfoy, I think you've lost your remaining brain cells. I don't belong to you or anyone. I answer to myself."

"You belong to me, Granger and I'll fight you to the grave before you prove me wrong of that fact!"

"I am _rarely_ wrong in anything!" Her eyes were dark with anger. "What is wrong with you? Why do you care about me and what happens to me anyway?!"

Draco hadn't meant to say it. He had meant to work her up to liking him and having her wrapped around his finger before he told her the news which by than she'd probably be extremely happy to hear. He hadn't meant to blurt it out to her there in the infirmary while they were arguing. It was supposed to be somewhere romantic, a moment they'd tell their great-grandchildren about and that she could brag about with her friend. Only problem was he did blurt it out during their sparring.

"Why do I care? Why do I care? I care because I am a bloody Veela and you are my damn mate!"

They both froze after his confession and just like that the world seemed to have shifted. There was a long and pregnant pause before he heard her whisper, "What?"

-

**A/N: Well, end of that chapter. I know that that's shorter than what I normally write but I've been keeping you guys waiting for an update for too long. I didn't throw my normal amount of humour in because this was more about the conflict and getting into the heart of things. Now we're actually getting somewhere with the Veela plot. Tell me what you guys think though.**

**Anyways, Q&A time!**

**BlackDemonAngel: When does Draco plan to tell Hermione he's a Veela?**

**Ally:** _Haha. Well, he hadn't planned on telling her but it sort of slipped. There were a gazillion ways that I was going to do that part but I liked it better this way. I mean, don't we all say some crazy stuff in the moments of an argument with someone? It made it more real to me._

**Balpreet Kaur: Can Draco get any more possessive?**

**Ally:** _-laughs- Actually he can and I probably will play that up more. I just LOVE possessive Draco! I know that might've been a rhetorical question but I just felt the need to put that in so that all those that love him possessive know that there is more to come._

**Alexandraya: Movie clothes or Book clothes?**

**Ally:** _I love the books but I love the uniform in the movies so they're basically in movie clothes for this fic. And your question wasn't odd! Honestly, I love answering all your questions, especially if I haven't answered a question like it before._

**Sarina Malfoy 22: Can you please update for my birthday?**

**Ally: **_I am soooooo sorry I didn't update for you as a birthday present but you know what? I'll dedicate a chapter of my fluffy new Christmas Dramione fic to be released soon, alrighty? The first chapter! All dedicated for you! Happy belated!_

**0-Jackie-0: I want a sweet, caring (fluffy) Dramione moment.**

**Ally:**_You'll be getting those pretty soon. Hehe…_

**Panther eyes: Ron will always be my favourite redhead.**

**Ally:**_I didn't kill him off just for you! Love me! I'm just joking. I'm not going to kill of anyone. Those are saved for my angsty drama fics. Haha. But hey, show Draco some love too! He's not a jerk, just misunderstood._

_-Ally heads off screen-_

_Ally: Give me my Honeydukes chocolate now, Draco! I said what you asked me to say!_

**Nullum Gratuitum: How about there's a trip to Hogsmeade, and once they get there, Draco apparatus them to some place amazing?**

**Ally: **_Good thinking. Great minds think alike. That'll be for an upcoming chapter. I can't decide what place though. So many amazing places to take the fabulous twosome. Feed back. Where would you like them to go? This goes for everyone reading this!_

**Disara: I don't believe that this story is your first HP fiction ever.**

**Ally:** _Alas, it is true. Really. No lies!_

**Cora Zabini: Adding another love interest who fancies Hermione.**

**Ally:**_ That is DEFINITELY being considered. I thought of that and I'm just wondering if I do that, how will I bring a new character into the midst._

**Coacoa: Ron and Draco battle it out, Ron gets the girl, more Blaise and Ginny interaction. (the gist of it)**

**Ally: **_They battled it out but Ron will definitely not get the girl. Nyah! I'm sorry but Ron/Hermione fics always make me queasy. I just don't like the pairing. I try to forget that the last two books had many interactions with them. But anywho, do not fear. Here's your Blaise/Ginny first real just them interaction. I'll write more on them too!_

**Sailorashes: Found my calling…Game between Ron and Draco.**

**Ally:**_ Yay! I converted another one to the most awesome ship ever! Hmm… I think I'm going to make it more of a game of attraction between Hermione and Draco. What do you think?_

**lvswtht: Another up-played jealous/possessive scene during dinner?**

**Ally:**_ Trust me. We will be seeing a lot of jealous/possessive scenes all over the place! P.S. I'm also really sorry that this one is shorter than the rest! I'm soooo majorly busy! Forgive me! I'll dedicate a whole chapter of my fluffy Christmas Dramione fic to you too! Alrighty? Do you forgive me now?_

**Handswapple: Potential Blaise/Ginny pairing!**

**Ally:**_You have called my attention to the fact that I haven't written much about them. Well, here they are making their debut of interaction._

**Dyien: Please don't let Hermione fall in love with Draco too fast!**

**Ally:**_Don't worry. Draco has to work for his prize! You know? Like in the medieval days where men had to win their lady love's favours? Sorta like that except with magic! _

**Tiger-Samba: Are you going to play up when Hermione finds out that Draco is a Veela?**

**Ally:** _Do you think I played it up enough? If not, no worries. I'm up-playing the dramatic revealing of when they do get together and when Harry and Ron find out Draco's little secret!_

**Anyways, guys, now that I've answered your questions, please review! Feedback! I might not update again for a while because I am swamped with my work and such but I'll try all for you. No fears if I do not update Oh My Veela quickly. I'll post the very first chapter of my Christmas fic –which some of you are dedicated in- soon so look out for that while you're waiting for an update to this fic! Keep reading, keep reviewing, keep telling people to check this out!**

**Long reviews makes you totally awesome! Submit questions but just REVIEW! Like I said, long reviews make my day! Hmm… I wonder what the law Draco was talking about was… Don't you?**

**Love you all, please review.**

**Ally**


	7. VII

**A/N: Alright, alright, I know you guys are probably really mad at me! I'm sooooo sorry though. I meant to publish at the beginning of the year but than my teachers started flogging us with tons of final projects. I go to a school where we have 4 classes one semester and than the other 4 after that. Anyways, it's exam week and I already finished 2 exams in class last week and I have a few days off from school to write so here it is. The next installment. I know you guys must hate me. Gahh… Forgive me please! I made this chapter extremely long… Anyways, I have a facebook group against teen suicide and it's for suicide prevention. I'll give you guys the link so if you have FB please join! Please! Watch the video clip too! Here's the link, please join. Just remove the spaces, okay?**

**ht tp/hs .face book. com/ group. php? gi d92770 46295**

**If the link doesn't work, the group is called GripLife: Teen Suicide Prevention**

**Thanks to my loyal reviewers for their support.**

**EmilyLovesYOU, Deadly Phoenix, o0rebeccakelsey, BookOn, lADIDA, Dragongirl1122, Smiles Fade. Music Plays., CrazySakura Blossom, lito-pink-chihuahua, desireechampine, CrookedTeeth, bookgrl, l0st-in-the-cl0uds, pringle.sam, animejunkie1028, Sociopathic-Disturbed-Assassin, thechickengirleatsu, Slytherin's Baby Girl, DiamondEnchantress, PyroAngel8605, Hermione09Weasley, Nymphie07, pussycat06, lambtastic, Vidushi, Lina Mistress of Elements, keske, Querida Goddess, Giant Brussel Sprout, Phelix, Elven at Heart, kassandra, ginsensu, confused-Luna, CrzyInsaneFanatic, Verekai, Sukie-san, wills21, Radhika, ChocolatexDots, Ayra Rider, sailorashes, Cal8907, Stormy Nights, Katia Dashwood, kutekittiez, lvswtht, dramionerox, Diddle, Anon, Nullum Gatuitum, Pekorimomo, Vinwinz, Alexandraya, Andi, Darkness-Lightness, monkey, anpan, WinnieThaPoo92, Lya Darkfury, metarisenja, pstibons, Dimrilla, behindblueeyes1117, ginnylovesharry07, wallaceout, malena, PinkPunkF, Devantron2000, PinkSlytherin, Christopher Kidwell, nadia the demented one, Nymphie07, Slythersnake2000, Rachel9493, Panther Eyes, Miyukaii, bluebear13sg, GrlWithoutAName, reader101, Balpreet Kaur, BlackDemonAngel, Isiss2868**

**First reviewers were: KRL2008 and Capt. Maniacal Melody**

**-**

_**Recap of Chapter 6 **_

_"Why do I care? Why do I care? I care because I am a bloody Veela and you are my damn mate!" _

_They both froze after his confession and just like that the world seemed to have shifted. There was a long and pregnant pause before he heard her whisper, "What?"_

**-**

**Chapter 7: Denial and The Boy Next Door…**

Hermione looked at Draco with disbelief in her eyes and he had to fight back the urge to start cursing. "You're my mate, Hermione."

"This isn't funny, Malfoy." She snapped out. "First you get me into the hospital wing and now you're lying to me."

"Don't go blaming me for why you're in here!" He bit out. "If it's anyone else's fault, it's that damn Weasel! He's the one that started that bloody fight and the stupid git that he is, hit you in the process."

Her brown eyes blazed angrily as she started to raise her voice. She barely even felt the stinging sensation, all she could think of was how aggravating he was. "Don't you _dare_ blame this on Ronald!"

"Oh! Ronald is it? Poor, poor Weasel. He hit you in the face so of course he's the one to be pitied." The blonde muttered sarcastically. "What a load of- "

"It wasn't his fault He was aiming for you."

"Right now I don't care who you blame, we're going to talk about what I just told you. Stop avoiding the damn subject."

"You're the one that got us on this subject!"

They glared at each other, their gaze never leaving one another and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

'_It won't get you anywhere snapping at her to make her listen though it'd help with the frustration since she won't listen anyway.'_ He thought.

"Look, love, I kno-"

"I am _not_ your love. I am not _your_ anything! Leave me alone, Malfoy." She muttered darkly as she turned away from him. "Save it for someone who cares."

He tugged her so that she'd face him and he looked at her with his piercing gaze. "Hermione, you are mine. No one else's. You were meant for me. I'm a Veela and you're my mate and there's nothing you and I can do to change that. In fact, I wouldn't change it if I was given the option so there's only one thing you can do, which is accepting it."

"There's nothing to accept. You're lying. I don't know what kind of game you're playing and I don't want to know, so just leave me alone, Malfoy."

Draco snorted. "Malfoy is it? I thought we'd have at least moved past that. I mean, after that kiss-"

"What kiss?" Hermione asked. "As far as I know, I have _never_ kissed you. After all the girls that you've kissed, maybe the lack of oxygen to your head has killed more brain cells than you actually thought."

"Denial, now?" The blonde smirked, downright amused and she wanted to slap that look right off of his face. "Alright, love, I'll play your game. You _didn't_ kiss me but I wonder what other bushy haired, brunette Gryffindor in our year it was that I kissed down in the dungeons. It was quite a fantastic-"

"Spare me the details, Malfoy." Hermione murmured, her face heating up.

Looking at the colour her face was turning, he chuckled deep in his throat. "You can try to pretend it isn't what it is for now, I'll give you time to wrap that stubborn head of yours around it but in the end, you'll have to come to terms with it. I'm not planning on dying any time soon and I'm also not planning on letting you walk away from me either."

The Slytherin leaned his face in and smirked when she squirmed. She stared back at his intense, stormy gaze before he leaned down further and brushed a light kiss against her lips before whispering in her ear, "You were meant for me love, I'm just waiting for you to accept it."

"There's nothing to accept." She whispered breathlessly.

'_Oh fantastic, Hermione. You sound like one of those fluttery little twits with no brains that you've despised all your life. One kiss from Malfoy and you become one of them.'_

'_Come now, love. I don't think you're a fluttery little twit and even if you believe you are, you are _my_ fluttery little twit and I'm glad you are acknowledging the kiss.'_

She groaned. _'Get out, out, out of my head, Malfoy!'_

"You're not doing a good job keeping me out, pet, but then again, you can never really keep me out. Not for long, at least and you probably don't even really want to." Draco told her. "Now, it's been a tiring day and as much as I hate leaving you, Madame Pomfrey will most likely be here to kick me out but first thing in the morning, I'll be here."

"You're right, Mr. Malfoy. It's time for you to leave. The poor girl has had a terribly exciting day but then again, she is friends with Misters Potter and Weasley. She's seen the hospital wing almost as much as that beloved library of hers."

"I highly doubt it, Madame Pomfrey." Draco retorted. "Don't exaggerate. She practically lives in that library."

Hermione blushed and gave him a harsh look before snapping out, "In any case Malfoy, I think you should get lost."

"Anxious to be rid of me?"

"Yes."

"And here I thought we were having our delightful daily banter followed by a wonderful ending of plenty of snogging."

"We don't end our fights with snogging."

"Ah, but we should now, shouldn't we?"

"Get out, Malfoy."

"I'm just throwing some suggestions your way, love." He laughed. "I'll be back tomorrow, bright and early. You'll probably miss me so terribly, thinking about me after that so-"

"I highly doubt I'll miss _you_ being around me, Malfoy."

"You'll miss me so terribly after I'm gone from breakfast and you'll wonder what I'm doing throughout the day while I'm in classes. It'll be so horrid for you to wait for me and miss me all day long and since I have Quidditch practice, it'll be even harder and longer a wait for you to bear. I guess I have no choice but to join you at lunch as well."

Hermione groaned. "Get lost, Malfoy."

Madame Pomfrey bit her cheek to keep from chuckling and ushered him out the door. When he was gone, the healer sighed. While many students might assume that Ms. Granger was lacking in the boy department, most teachers knew that was incredibly wrong. Mister Malfoy and Mister Zabini, the bodyguards she had unknowingly had and Mister Potter and Mister Weasley that compromised the missing two thirds of their 'Golden Trio'.

Little did everyone know that Hermione would be expecting yet another male…

-

Hermione the very next day woke up to find Draco Malfoy's face staring back at her. She gave a yelp of surprise and he smirked widely.

"I know it's quite a shock to find an appealing face infront of you. It must be a change from seeing Potter and Weasley's almost every bloody day but I know you'll adjust, seeing as now I'll most likely be attached to your hip."

"First of all, Harry and Ron are _not_ horrible to the eyes. You can ask any girl you want, and they'll tell you that-"

"I highly doubt that any self-respecting Slytherin girl in her right mind would ever think that Pothead and Weasel are easy on the eyes."

"Well, no one has ever accused Slytherins of ever being in the right state of mind." Hermione retorted, amused.

"I'll have you know that if it weren't for that evil Head of House of yours, my marks would definitely have been higher than yours." He accused. "We Slytherins are _always_ in tip to shape. Mind and Body, we are far better than all the other houses. Name me one Slytherin who-"

"Gregory Goyle."

He rolled his eyes. "That's not-"

"If you add Goyle and Crabbe's brains together, you'd end up with a quarter of Crookshanks's intelligence."

He seemed to consider this for a moment than reluctantly conceded. "Fine, fine but that does not dissuade me from being your second shadow."

"I don't need you to hang around me, Malfoy. We already see each other far too much, seeing as we live together and have almost the same schedule."

"You're my mate, Hermione and as such you are also my _soul mate_. You've struck gold, Granger. I am positively all you can look for in a male specimen. I am brilliant, dashing, brilliant, dashing, have amazing talent, rich, dashing, dashing, da-"

"I'm wondering how you manage to walk through any doors. Your ego is practically suffocating me," She muttered dryly.

Draco shook his head. "It's not ego, darling, it's truth. Now since you already know you are my mate, that saves us both a lot of trouble. Now, I think that we should get married before we do the other ritual. I'm assuming you want to get married and really, that'll be yet another way I can claim that you're mine-"

"Yours?"

"Yes. _Mine._ I've found that I've grown quite possessive over you but that doesn't really matter now and pay attention to the more important things I'm saying. Right, do I have your attention?" He paused for a second and she opened her mouth to say something before he continued. "Of course Blaise will be my best man and I'm assuming that the Weaslette will be your Maid of Honor or something along the lines of that. My mother will most likely want to help with the arrangements and…"

"There's not going to be a wedding," She told him. "I'm not going to marry you, Malfoy. I am also certain that you are _not_ a Veela and I am _not_ your mate."

He sighed. "And here I thought we were moving forward."

"There's nothing to move forward to."

"Hermione, Hermione, Hermione." Draco shook his head. "The clock is ticking. We have no time to play it coy and for you to be all hard to get. You've been hard to get since third year. I think you've overplayed that card."

"I have not overplayed anything."

"Why won't you just give in? We both know you love me."

"I don't love you!" Hermione said quickly. "Nope. It's in fact, quite the opposite of love that I feel for you. I downright hate you, I'm sorry to say."

He faked a shocked look as his eyes danced with delight. "Oh you do? I'm wounded, Hermione. I thought all this banter meant more to you. What with that kindergarten psychology where pushing and shoving, and snide remarks really means that they love one another. I was almost at that stage of tugging your hair."

"Your wit astounds me, Malfoy." Rolling her brown eyes, she looked to the ceiling and shook her head, biting her cheek to contain her smile. Alright, so she found their fights amusing. Sue her.

"Well you say you don't love me but it seems like you do. You don't act this way towards other boys, Granger. I'm assuming it is males that you prefer…"

Her eyes gave him a pointed look. "I'm completely open minded to other preferences of other people but I, Draco Malfoy, happen to like the male variety."

"Good. I wasn't worried but you never know…"

"Sod off."

"Oh, my little hell cat, what sharp claws you have."

"The better to gouge your eyes out." She snapped.

"See, Granger. This banter, this battle of wits is something you never do with anyone else but me and you don't actually hate me. Admit it, Granger, no matter how reluctant you are, you have to admit it. You are in love with me."

"I'm _not_ in love with you."

"If not me, tell me who."

"Ummm… well, you don't know him."

"Give me a name, Granger."

She racked her head and used the first name that popped up into her head. It was that of her childhood bestfriend. "Richard."

"Richard?"

"Yes, Richard. He lives right next door to me and we've been friends since before I could walk. Richard Kendricks."

He looked at her and smirked. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"But you won't because he's muggle so I'm sorry, Malfoy. You'll never get to meet him."

"Than he isn't here to stop me, either, is he?" He raised a regal blonde brow before looking at the time. "It's almost time for class and you've distracted me too long that neither of us have had any breakfast."

"Unlike you, I can still have food. I don't have any class."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to come back here and have an extra long lunch, no? Good thing that I have no class after lunch either." He left the comment hanging as he walked out with a bounce in his step.

-

When Draco left Hermione, he saw everyone whispering over something. They couldn't still be talking about what the Weasel did to Hermione, could they? It still made his blood boil whenever he thought of the red-haired git but he'd save that anger for a more appropriate time to be released.

He saw Blaise standing there with most of the Slytherin Quidditch team and walked over to him asking, "Zabini, what's going on?"

"Apparently we've got a transfer from Durmstrang. Just arrived with Dumbledore this morning and he just got sorted into Slytherin. From what Pansy is going on about, he's apparently 'so darling and quite handsome but of course not as handsome as Draco.'" Blaise laughed as he tried to imitate Pansy.

Draco made a face. Pansy was a friend from when he was growing up and he thought she had moved on from him. Isn't that she said? He shrugged his shoulders and ask Blaise, "What's his name?"

"Oh, I think it's Richard something or another." The boy told him uncaringly.

The blonde's blood ran cold. It was impossible though. Hermione had either made him up or he really had to be just some muggle that lived next door to her but he needed to know for sure. "Richard Kendricks?"

"Yeah that's it. Richard Kendricks." Blaise looked at him with his dark eyes. "Why? Do you know him?"

'_No but Hermione does.'_

-

**A/N: And that's the end of that chapter. I rushed the ending but I just had to get it up and going. I couldn't keep editing it and I've already started working on the 8****th**** chapter. You guys are going to enjoy that! Richard is AMAZING! Plus, there's a twist to his character that will be quite interesting. I'm sorry it's only Draco Hermione interaction but in my defence it is a Draco and Hermione centered fic. Now, Draco here is a little bit less possessive and more nuts and out of control but there is an explanation for that in the next chapter. Gahhh! The next chapter is bloody fantastic. That'll be up in 3 weeks, scouts honour. I promise.**

**lvstwht is helping me with some ideas so thank you to them! **

**Read and Review! At least 30, please! Now time for your favourite part, Q&A!**

_**Q&A**_

**Vidushi: Harry and Ron more in character…**

**Ally: **_There is a reason that they are like that! Trust me! I know they are out of character but it's all part of Draco's Veela mystique. All shall most likely be revealed in the few upcoming chapters. And keep reviewing; you'll definitely see your name here more often! Hehe. Possessive Draco is cool, isn't he? Right now, boyfriends are far from my thoughts but nice guys are out there. I hope you find one!_

**keske: SevMione and Forgetting about H/W**

**Ally: **_How I wish I could forget about doing it! I'm just such an over-achiever. See, I'm in highschool, and I'm in gifted and I'm also going to be taking 2 weeks of school to be part of some University programs… I can't blow off school to write fanfics all the time but hey, writing fanfics is fun! …I wonder if I could pass this off as an English assignment…_

**Phelix: What are you going to do next? Is Hermione going to go postal resulting in her ignoring Draco and will she tell Harry and Ron? Will she tell Ginny?**

**Ally: **_I have tons of ideas all lined up. She won't ignore him but she'll have to have a brilliant plan to get her out of the scheme that I've created and she's backed herself into. She'll probably save telling Ron and Harry but she'll tell Ginny soon or I'll somehow have Ginny find out on her own._

**ginsensu: That could have been better.**

**Ally: **_Ouch. I know it wasn't up to complete total snuff but I thought it was still pretty good. Again, ouch._

**Sukie-san: It's going to take forever to get them together isn't it?**

**Ally: **_You have NO idea._

**wills21: Is Draco's possesiveness going to break up the Hermione, Ron, and Harry's friendship?**

**Ally: **_Definitely not. I love the golden trio and while I'm accepting and have enjoyed some stories that don't keep them together, I just don't have the heart to split them up._

**Vinwinz: You love to let it hang there…**

**Ally: **_Mwahahahaahahaha! I don't enjoy cliffhangers but hey, I also seem to be leaving them at cliffhangers, no? I guess I just want to keep you all interested in the next chapter and guessing what's going to happen. Either that or I am just a meanie. I'm going with the first one though…_

**WinnieThaPoo92: So if you're Veela and you kill someone, are you free from Azkaban just because you're sort of mentally unstable?**

**Ally: **_I'll include the law next chapter as it will be a though Draco thinks of when Richard comes into play…_

**Dimrilla: Will Hermione ever learn occlumency?**

**Ally: **_She's working on it. After all, what's she going to do on that hospital bed while she waits for Draco because we all know no matter how she tries to deny, she's waiting there for him._

**Balpreet Kaur: Are you going to have another character for Hermione or Ginny so that their Significant others would be jealous?**

**Ally: **_Hermione gets Richard but with a twist, one that will blow Draco away._

**KRL2008: I was also wondering about the law Draco mentioned about keeping him out of Azkaban. When will we get to learn more about that?**

**Ally:**_ Once again, the law comes into play in the next chapter. I'm evil, I know. I said it'd be this chapter but it worked better in the next one._

**Lya Darkfury: -Insert amazing review here-**

**Ally: **_Thanks for the fantastic and encouraging review. I really needed it and I kept looking over it every time I got a little disappointed in my writing. Thanks so much! You're a great reader and please continue making other author's days._

**Thank you so much for reviewing. There's a reason for the madness surrounding Hogwarts and why everyone is so nuts and why Draco is bipolar and generally why everything is going on! It'll make tons more sense in the next chapter! There is a reason for everything! I promise! It's short, I know but the 8****th**** chapter is the ****longest**** chapter I've written for this so far.**

**Remember, give me 3 weeks. Review! Pass the story on to friends in the mean time.**

**LONG reviews make me smile! Please, if there's something you don't like, leave constructive criticism so I know what to do to make it better. Read and Review!**

**LONG REVIEWS!**

**-Ally **


	8. VIII

A/N: It's always great to get that amazing response from readers and reviewers

**A/N: It's always great to get that amazing response from readers and reviewers! Wow…This story only has a few chapters and I've never expected this much success in my first Dramione and first HP fanfic ever! It really does wonders to a girl's ego! Wow. Over 25000 hits and counting! That's amazing… Keep up the word spreading guys!!**

**Thanks to my fantabulous reviewers!**

**They are – in order of review, newest to oldest: SoccerGirl723, goddess.of P U R P L E, jkrowlingrox, I'M JUST ME 1, iloveefanfics, kmd94, DkWolves, Gryfferin Princess, viii, ChiCkkie, Apocalypse Wrath, mylove24, quillpen7495, DarkestInk, XittieSplash, ****Marmalade Fever****, ****ciaobella00****, ****Monki-Neko****, ****BookQn****, Ficuslover626, ****May Grace Malfoy****, ****leecy****, ****vine a nail****, ****La Mariane****, ****countrygirlemma****, ****SPIRITnJOY****, ****Alonia187****, Vidushi, Dimrilla, Speich, ****Sukie-san****, ****freedomflier****, ****Vinwinz****, ****flamingbunnies****, PMSingAlthia9, sailorashes, Hermione09Weasley, confused-Luna, woaivampireboys, GrlWithoutAName, o0rebeccakelsey, Nullum Gratuitum, pringle.sam, ginsensu, keske, PinkPunkF, Gina Olivia, dramionerox, Isiss2868, BlackDemonAngel, lindsx33, Tiger-Samba, bianca-the-pirate, Scarlet Calathea, behindblueeyes1117, silkandsatin, xXx-Keldary-Queen-xXx, xxIcyAngelxx, Cal8907, Panther Eyes, mia818, ReineMauvaise, Elven at Heart, Rachel9493, pussycat06, Pekorimomo, lvswtht, VMLoVeR87, PyroAngel8605, TwilightDreamz13, EmilyLovesYOU, LemonSmasher, fR3aK, oufan, mentarisenja, christy86**

**First Reviewer: ****amaaaziingdmc**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 8: Along Came Richard…**

Draco stared at the boy in question… _'So that's Richard Kendricks, huh? Looks like a downright git to me.'_

He studied the boy long and hard, ignoring Blaise's knowing gaze fixed upon him. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary that he saw from the young wizard. He was definitely shorter than Draco, and undoubtedly less rich and less intelligent than him as well. His hair wasn't even an interesting colour. It was sandy brown and his face wasn't really appealing.

"You know, mate, if you keep glaring at him like that, you can probably burn enough holes to make him cottage cheese…"

The blond turned his stare at the Italian for a moment, his eyes radiating as much warmth as the deep freeze. "First of all, Blaise, I wasn't glaring – I was sizing up. Second of all…I don't really think it's cottage cheese that has the holes," he told him before once again turning to _not_ glare at the boy.

"Leave it to you to miss the point of what I was trying to say…" Blaise sighed but his friend was only half paying attention.

"I already knew you did ballet…" Draco replied, loud enough for a few Slytherins to hear.

Zabini turned to them and shook his head, one hand scratching the back of his head as he forced a strained smile. "Don't listen to him; he's having a rough patch with the Mrs."

"Yes, Blaise, I'll buy you that new tutu for Christmas…" His friend murmured, still watching the new transfer's every move like a blood thirsty basilisk.

The dark-haired boy groaned as a few first year Hufflepuff girls passing by stifled their laughter. He grabbed Draco, much to the young man's protests and pulled him into a dark and quiet alcove.

The youngest Malfoy turned his gaze on his friend and narrowed his eyes. "Look, Blaise, I know it's getting hard for you to not be on the same level of a relationship with the Weaslette as I am with Hermione but can you please find someone else to relieve your needs?"

"That's _not_ what I pulled you here for!"

"Well then why the hell did you pull me here for? That Kendricks is a shady character, Blaise! There's something not completely straight about him!"

A dark eyebrow was raised and Draco filled his best mate in on what he had missed that morning.

-

Hermione on the other hand was still lying down in bed when Ginny came into the infirmary, walking towards her. She smiled thankfully. It had been getting extremely dull after Draco had left and there was now no one to have a conversation with which was why she was probably bored. Not because she missed Draco or their banter but because no one was there to have a conversation with.

"Gin! Thank goodness!"

The redhead smiled and pulled up a chair, before sitting down in front of her friend. "Hey 'Mione. How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Fine but I feel extremely bored."

"Well, I've got news to perk you up." Ginny told her happily, her tone reminding Hermione of a happy bird on an early morning, chirping its little heart out.

The brunette moved around against the pillows of the bed to get comfortable before asking, "What's this very interesting news you have that will cheer me up? Have they come out with a new _Hogwarts A History?_ Are there more than 12 uses for Dragon's blood? Has Rita Skeeter mysteriously disappeared in some unknown territory while on assignment and they can't find her?"

"No, no and unfortunately for us and the rest of the wizarding population, no."

Hermione sighed. That was disappointing – she was more so disappointed about the last option than the other two though. "Well, if it's not that, what could possibly interest me?"

"We have a new transfer from Durmstrang. He is tall, dark and gorgeous!" Ginny told her, giggling happily and bouncing a little that Hermione could almost compare her to a few canaries that she had gotten quite close to…

"Well, that's nice…" She told her friend, even though she could care less about a transfer. Of course she'd be hospitable towards the new student but she just wasn't as interested in gossiping about boys excessively but if talking about them made Ginny happy, she'd put up with listening to a few comments. "I'm assuming you know a lot about him and from the bouncing I gather that you really want to tell me so let's hear it."

"His name is Richard Kendricks and he's from Durmstrang, like I told you. I'm guessing that he's around 6' since he's around Ron's height. Think slightly shorter than Malfoy with darker hair. It's almost like a dirty sand type of colour."

The older of the two witches sat there and processed all of that given information before asking, "Richard Kendricks? Oh Merlin! _Richard!_"

-

Draco still hadn't stopped staring at the boy and Blaise was starting to worry. Was that a hint of red he detected, bleeding into his best friend's irises?

"Draco, mate, what's the matter?" He asked slowly. The dark haired boy didn't want to provoke the grey eyed, over protective and at times extremely temperamental Veela. "You look like you coughed up a couple of slugs."

The blonde turned towards him. "That wasn't me, that was the Weasel and apparently Hermione knows a Richard Kendricks. _Apparently_ she's _in love_ with a Richard Kendricks."

Uh oh. Blaise had an upset, angry, possessive Veela to deal with. Not good. "I'm sure she didn't mean it that way, Draco. You probably backed her up into a corner so she said someone's name."

"You could be right but I'm not going to take any chances." He saw the grey eyes light up with something more sinister…

This was not looking to good for anyone and Blaise knew he was going to be dragged along in the whirlpool of disaster that was currently Draco Malfoy's love life.

-

Hermione jumped out of the hospital bed she was on and Ginny stared at her oddly from her position on the chair. "What's wrong, 'Mione?"

The brunette witch turned to her and groaned. "I have done something truly horrible to the new transfer student. You see, I just really wanted Draco gone and he's been saying all of these odd little things-"

"Odd little things?" Ginny asked. "Malfoy? _Draco_ Malfoy?"

"Yes, Draco Malfoy. Anyway, what he has been saying is of no little importance but as of yet, he thinks I'm in love with Richard Kendricks who I thought was a muggle since he lived right next door to me and never said a thing about magic though I suppose I didn't either but I'm quite surprised he hid it from me if he knew what I was doing and I-"

"Calm down, 'Mione. Just take a deep breath, and try telling me all of this again, slowly and with less detail." The petite redhead said.

She shook her head. "It's all hard to explain, Ginny and at the moment, there's just no time. I've got to get to Richard."

With that said, Hermione ran out of the infirmary with the youngest Weasley following up right behind her. "Hermione, wait!"

-

The heir to the Malfoy legacy was livid. There was just an aura about him that spoke of something dark and vile. An air of murder was coated around him thickly.

No one had ever seen him in that sort of mood before, at least not until recently.

Harry watched under his invisibility cloak as his longtime enemy spoke with Blaise Zabini. The dark haired young man was failing to keep the blonde's mouth shut.

He watched intently, his eyes never leaving the pair. Malfoy had been staring at the new Durmstrang transfer with eyes dark, quick flashes of red bleeding into his irises. It had not been odd that the Pureblood had come picking a fight with him and Ron but it was about Hermione, no less.

The blonde had been transfixed with the brunette from what he had seen with their encounters. Giving up the proclamations of having better blood was credit to Malfoy's needs to survive after the war and not be tried for discrimination but it truly did appear as if he did not care about blood. He had even gone so far as to take care of Hermione.

Something just wasn't completely correct with this situation. He'd tried figuring it out, recalling Blaise Zabini's words_. '__There are things already going on that neither of you two can prevent. I suggest you let them happen.'_

"What are you hiding?" Harry asked in a whispered voice.

He didn't want Malfoy to catch him observing. Every time he approached Malfoy, the air crackled, almost like he was being warned. Harry remembered what had happened when he had approached Hermione while Malfoy was there. It was like his brain was slowly shutting down, like he was an open book for the blonde to read and he was easily being pushed away. The tone of Malfoy's voice enough to make him freeze with shock at the ice, the malice as his eyes seemed to look past him.

No. Something was happening to Malfoy but every time he tried to go closer to him, remember and figure it out, he couldn't. His thoughts seemed to be come jumbled until he was left with nothing again on the subject.

What it was that was happening, Harry couldn't figure it out, but he knew that Hermione was at the centre of this. It most likely had not been her intention but she was there none-the-less. He turned and walked away since he was certain that it wouldn't be too long before Malfoy caught on someone had been watching.

-

"I don't like that look in your eye, Draco." Blaise told him. "They're darkening again and there are plenty of people here to see it so I suggest you calm the fuck down."

His friend's eyes were flickering between colours before they settled back to their normal gray. "Crude language, Zabini?"

"Murder, Malfoy?" Zabini drawled. "Plus, I only learned it from you."

"No one said anything about murder."

Blaise stared at him and silently thought, _'But you are capable of it, Draco and you will be even more so in later months.'_

Zabini disregarded the thought since he knew that while Draco had the power to do it, he didn't have the heart to do it, the stomach or will to become a murderer with that much ease of decision. The war brought about many things but death had never been welcome in his friend's eyes. Anyone's death.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "He's still going to find himself in a mass amount of pain, Blaise. It can be now or later but it _will_ happen if what Hermione told me is true…"

Draco stopped talking as he felt something prickle the base of his neck with awareness. Someone had been watching them. He knew it but he didn't know who it was.

So caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone was dragging him with them until he was far away from the gawking crowd. He stared down at the hand before arching a regal brow at Blaise. "Explain why you have your hands on me, Blaise."

"Because the future Mrs. Draco Malfoy waved me over from this end of the hall and I'm assuming she wanted you to come since she wrote 'Ferret' with her wand…" He peered at the blond. "You _are_ the ferret she was talking about, aren't you?"

"How many other people do you know have been referred to as Ferret?" Asked Malfoy dryly.

At the end of the corridor they saw no one and decided to walk further down before passing another alcove with a rather large statue when they were tugged in.

He stared at the person who pulled them in and wasn't surprised to find his future mate standing there, arms across her chest, looking less than pleased. He said the first thing that came to find. "What the _bloody hell_ are you doing out of the infirmary?"

"I had good reason to come," she snapped.

"No you didn't so I suggest you get your arse to Madame Pomfrey."

Blaise watched warily, feeling like a useless bystander.

"It wasn't a major injury. Madame Pomfrey overreacted, Draco."

They glared hard at each other before Hermione snapped them out of their silence. "You better not hurt him, Draco."

"Hurt who, my dear?" He asked, though he had a sneaking suspicion…

"Richard Kendricks, Draco. Playing dumb is not becoming of you." She told him, sniffing the air indignantly. "Promise you won't hurt him."

He was about to give his answer when the dark alcove seemed to explode with light and voices started filling his head. Loud voices, crowding together in his mind and increasing with sound as more voices joined in. Draco closed his eyes but the light was still blinding him, a burning sensation behind his retinas.

Hermione watched as Draco's face contorted into pain. "Draco," she asked, reaching out to him. She turned to Blaise as the Malfoy heir grimaced in pain. "Blaise, what's happening?"

"I think it's part of his turning," he told her.

'_Turning?'_ The brunette witch thought as she bit the inside of her cheek, wondering. Thoughts turning over and over in her head.

Draco gasped out from all the pain and nearly doubled over.

"Make it stop… Shut up!" He shouted as he tried leaning against the wall. He opened his eyes blindly fighting the raging light and he reached out for someone he couldn't see. "Hermione?"

"Right here, Draco." She told him and grasped his outstretched hand.

Hermione stared worriedly at him. Prat that he was, she knew he wasn't fooling around. Something was wrong.

"Hermione…" He whispered as the pain became too much. Draco vaguely heard her voice tell Blaise to get Madame Pomfrey before the footsteps ran but even those sounds so close to him were becoming overpowered by voices.

His last thought before he fainted was, _'I didn't promise I wouldn't hurt him, love.'_

He smirked through his pain and fell unconscious with Hermione holding his hand, troubled.

-

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't written for a while but my muse just froze after I had so much schoolwork to do. School's out and I've managed to finish the chapter but I split it in half so that I'd have a cliffy and there'd be lighthearted stuff in the next chapter to perk up spirits. I'm going on vacation to the Philippines for a month so I'm going to update when I return in 4 weeks. This time I know I'll keep my promise since I'll have tons of time in between the long drives.**

**I hope you all haven't given up on this story and I hope that you haven't thought I abandoned this. I'm also hoping you enjoyed this but anyways, time for the Q&A!**

**Questions and Answers from the Authoress with a magic pen... erm… keyboard**

**amaaaziingdmc: "Mister Malfoy and Mister Zabini, the bodyguards she had unknowingly had..."  
Q: Has this been mentioned before? I don't remember it being mentioned...**

second, about three concerning Richard.  
Q1: Did Hermione know that Richard is a wizard?  
Q2: Does Richard like Hermione?  
Q3: Does Hermione actually have feelings for him or did she just say the random first name that popped into her head?

**Ally: **_This was mentioned before though not explained. Draco and Blaise followed Hermione around though she didn't know that they did it since Draco was Hermione's stalker. Anyways, when Hermione found herself heading into trouble unknowingly, one or both of the boys were there to protect her or to at least ease the brunt of what would've happened._

_No Hermione doesn't know Richard is a wizard until she heard he transferred._

_No. There is a reason behind this._

_First name that popped into her head. _

_Hope that cleared stuff up for you. _

**TwilightDreamz13: Can Draco get any more jealous, and is there by chance, a "fight between two people? AKA Draco and Richard/Ron…**

**Ally:**___There's going to be plenty more jealousy with Draco. As for the fight…I'm sure you're a smart enough person to answer this yourself… _

**VMLoVeR87: Draco shouldn't kill anyone and more progress with Ginny/Blaise.**

**Ally:**_ Trust me, Draco is not going to kill anyone. That would be just far too angsty and not at all what I was going for with this story. Plus, someone would be in tears and it'd just be a whole mess… No character death. I hate character deaths. Ginny and Blaise will be progressing in the next chapter for sure. They're actually who we open up with in the next chapter…_

**lvswtht: Hermione not accepting quickly what he tells her.**

**Ally:**_ I believe Hermione is one to need facts more than most people before believing anything. She's going to have to re-evaluate her conclusion in Draco's case after this little incident though, wouldn't you think?_

**Panther Eyes: Is Richard going to help Hermione?**

**Ally:**___Yes he will. And Draco's ego? Well…He just wouldn't be Draco Malfoy without having a rather large ego, now would he?_

**silkandsatin: Is it the same Richard?**

**Ally:** _Yes._

**Tiger-Samba: -Insert one of my fave reviews-**

**Ally:**_ Haha… Murder, no but Madame Pomfrey will have plenty of work. And her being drawn in? Of course she is. She's a teacher at Hogwarts… She can't help it._

**Isiss2868: Pushing them out the door, and not needing overnight care…**

**Ally:** _She's not going to push him that far though she is playing hard to get. Like Hermione said, Madame Pomfrey overreacted and hey…if her overreacting works in my favour for my plotline, well, who am I to discourage her? –Insert my innocent look here-_

**Sukie-san: Hermione psychic?**

**Ally:**___Ha! She wishes!_

**Alonia187: Found the story on HPFF.**

**Ally:** _It's hard to manage multiple story updating because I'd have to change the Q&A. I think though that I'll reserve all my Q&A for FF or I'm thinking I might transfer to HPFF for my Harry Potter stories…_

**La Mariane: My grammar, and a wonderfully long review…**

**Ally:** _I know. Grammar! Gah! I know. My Advanced English teacher would not be proud… Anyway, French? Oulala! I'm learning the language still._

**ChiCkkie: Long sentences and grammar…**

**Ally: **_Long sentences… Well, I write a lot and talk a lot. It's a combination of me just being myself and extending it to my writing. I try not to do it since I hate reading this like that as well but sometimes I just can't help it. Grammar… I know. –sigh- Advanced English drains me of my mind._

**Gryfferin Princess: Unpredictable?**

**Ally:** _Haha. Yes, I can be rather unpredictable. Just when my friends think they have me down, I always do something out of the ordinary. It keeps things interesting. And anywho, he was only pretending to be a muggle._

**jkrowlingrox: ****Hermione's next door neighbor is a wizard? And she just told Malfoy that she was in love with him? Wait, let me guess, he had a secret crush on her and would be absolutely delighted to go out with her. Which will cause extreme problems for Hermione and Draco's eyes will turn black again, and all that. Then Hermione will eventually have to admit that she doesn't love him, and that it was just to get him off her back... Oh boy. I love this story! The drama is amazing!**

**Ally: **_Oh trust me…You've got some of it right and the rest completely off... The drama is quite wonderful, isn't it? But trust me, the way I've done this…Oh there's more drama with the way I've done this…_

**goddess.of P U R P L E: Beta-reader?**

**Ally:** _Mm… I'll give it some thought but lvswtht is going to be helping me out once I've got more of my act together…_

**There is the end of Q&A. Anyways, have any more questions? Ask away. Btw, I've added a poll on my profile so be sure to vote AFTER you review. –hint hint-**

**Reviews mean the world to me. Long reviews equal love.**

**Sorry again for the wait.**

**-Ally**


	9. IX

A/N: Alright, so I promised everyone that I would write and update the chapter in 4 weeks

**A/N: Alright, so I promised everyone that I would write and update the chapter in 4 weeks. Well, the time is up and here is the requested chapter. You all wanted to know more about Richard so I have given in to your demands and there is a Richard POV and it is rather long, oui? Oui.**

**Once again, I wouldn't have felt this inspired if it wasn't for my reviewers. My lovely and wonderful, beloved reviewers. You're what has brought me this far.**

**Reviewers – newest to oldest: b-ballgurl2, Snape is Forgiven, ginsensu, inudemoness93- sessyluvr, werewolfknights, firehottie, malfoylover1, Hermione09Weasley, sailorashes, ashy-book-lova, Althia9, dramionerox, Phelix, Elven at Heart, DarkestInk, oO-FaB-Oo, Sonia120462, amaaaziingdmc, BlackDemonAngel, TheyCallMeMr.Pigg, PinkMusicalCherry, Vinwinz, Sukie-san, SilverSerpent122, cLoTiHeArT, Secret Thought, Under-A-Blue-Moon, Soul Of The Dark Mark, Gryfferin Princess, jkrowlingrox, woaivampireboys, Marmalade Fever, Panther Eyes, Pink Slytherin, pussycat06, lvswtht, TheCrzyinglyInsne1, flamingbunnies, Darkness-Lighteness**

**First reviewer: HadaRogue**

**-**

**Recap of Chapter 8:**

_Harry is keeping tabs on Draco after noticing slight changes going on with him. Meanwhile Richard, Hermione's muggle 'love' is apparently a wizard and a new transfer at Hogwarts sending Draco's jealousy off the roof. Of course, not to be outdone, as Hermione pulls Draco aside, he gives her a talking to due to her being out of the infirmary. Just as Hermione makes him promise not to harm Richard, Draco starts having great pains and he happily submits to unconsciousness since he didn't promise her._

_-_

Blaise rushed to get Madame Pomfrey, so much so that he didn't care to notice those around him or the questions being thrown at him by the many curious students of Hogwarts. He didn't even bother swerving away from others in the hall that he was about to bump into.

The dark haired young man shrugged unfeelingly and in his mind thought, _'It's their faults if they choose to get in my way. They either move or get trampled.'_

It's not like he cared how he got the job done. He was a Slytherin. The Sorting Hat in Draco's year had surely said it the best. _'Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends'._

Blaise glanced back at the other pairs of idiots that had failed to move out of his way before he felt the breath get knocked out of him. He gasped as he felt a heavy weight pressed against his chest, he finding himself lying horizontally down on the floor.

Chancing a glance upwards he saw intense red, vivid red. It nearly reminded him of the way Draco's eyes would turn if Hermione was threatened but he couldn't completely associate it with that since this was far more welcome than the bloodthirsty look on his best friend's face.

He knew that hair from anywhere. Weasley coloured hair and tons of it.

_Ginny._

He shook himself out of his soon to be 'love-intoxicated' thoughts as the youngest Malfoy so often liked to call them. This wasn't the time since said Malfoy was, most likely- though he hoped not-, lying somewhere on the floor in utter agony with the future Mrs. Malfoy fearing for him.

'_Draco would probably care more about me keeping her unhappy longer than him being in so much agony for that long a time. And he calls me love-intoxicated.'_ The young man gave a small smirk before he unkindly shoved the girl he had unrequitedly loved for a while onto the ground.

"Ouch." She murmured and glared at him, brown eyes flashing. "Could you please try not to trample everyone, Zabini? Most people don't enjoy being on the cold stone floor."

He rolled his eyes. "As much as I'd love to verbally spar with you, _Ginevra, _I'm needed to fetch someone. Emergency."

"You could at least have the decency to apologize and help me up," she said indignantly as she rubbed all the spots that ached while he leaped up from the floor. "On second thought, I don't want your help. I just want you to give me a bloody apology."

Of course, Blaise had no time to entertain the youngest Weasley. He turned to her and smirked. "I'm sorry that you chose to get in my way at a most inappropriate time, _Ms. Weasley,_ and made us fall on the floor in an undignified heap. I'm also quite sorry that you delayed me even further from getting help quickly but the thing I'm most sorry of is the fact that I did not have the time to kiss you when you were quite accessible. It shall not happen again."

With a mocking bow, he took off but not before the youngest spitfire snapped out. "Zabini! That was not a proper apology!"

"Slytherin, love!" He called back with a chuckle. Apparently the last of his statement had not registered. Blaise couldn't wait when it did but he didn't have to wait long.

"_Kiss!" _She exclaimed, startled.

-

Hermione was beside herself with worry as she stared at the blond boy who still moaned in great pain though he was unconscious. His brow was sweaty and she searched for something to wipe it off with. Finding none, she tore a bit at what she was wearing and wiped his cooling brow.

"…M-M…ne…" He moaned quietly, his hand seeking something.

It was either he had muttered 'mine' or 'Mione' but she held his hand and assured him of her presence.

"I'm here, Draco, and when you're all better, I'm going to kill you in your sleep, you bloody git." It wasn't her habbit to swear. She had picked it up after being around Ron and most of the Weasley children for so long. "Veela. Turning?" Hermione asked him silently though she was only met with grunts of agony.

She stared at him for a while. "I didn't know what to believe when you told me the first time. You had been acting slightly different. Not so much the paying me attention since you used to do that, though most of the time it had been to annoy me. It wasn't even the staring. Your eyes at times seem to change, and there's just this aura about you… I think I'm going to have to reconsider what you've told me. It's either that or I've gone quite mad."

The brunette sighed. "I probably have. Look at me. I'm talking to you and you're unconscious and in pain." Her brown eyes never left his form. "I don't doubt that I am but what else am I to do for you besides talk to you and let you know I'm here? You're safe from my wrath for now since I've got it in my mind to murder your best friend for taking so long. You're in pain. You could be dying and he's taking his time about it, isn't he?"

She started tapping fidgeting from her position as she thought of Blaise and how long it was taking him to get help.

"I should've been the one to leave and get help." Hermione stated upset and impatient. He looked to be in a great deal of pain.

"No…Blaise." Draco murmured upset, his brows coming together though he was still quite out of it. "Want…Mione."

"Fine, you baby, I'm here." Hermione felt him squeeze her hand. She'd grudgingly admit that she was _a little_ worried about him. "Where are you Blaise?"

-

"Madame Pomfrey!" Blaise shouted like a madman in the infirmary, startling the elder witch.

The woman jumped out of her skin. "Mr. Zabini! What could be the matter? Don't tell me you and Mr. Malfoy have found yourselves in another round with Misters Potter and Weasley."

"It has nothing to do with me or Malfoy. Well, actually, it does have something to do with Draco." He let out in a rush. "Don't mind the jumbled mess of my words. What I mean to say is that it's Draco and he's with Hermione near the Great Hall. He collapsed and I think it has something to do with his turning."

"Turning? Oh that's right! Headmaster informed all of the teachers of Draco's condition as to not punish him for something that is beyond his control. My goodness child, take me to him."

Blaise nodded and rushed out the door with the Healer following closely behind him.

-

Ginny walked back to Gryffindor Common Room after her encounter with Blaise. For one of the few times in her teenage life, when she was past all of the childhood flutters of fancying a boy, she was utterly flustered by Blaise Zabini.

She would admit and had admitted already, to herself and Hermione, that she fancied him quite a bit though that didn't stop her snappish attitude with him. He wasn't being coy about what he wanted from her and he seemed to legitimately want her, if his words were anything to go by but he was a Slytherin.

The redhead shook her head and uttered the password to the Fat Lady distractedly. No one was there, many off to do other things while the weather was good and others out to get the latest gossip on the new boy. She would have continued her search for Hermione but after her encounter with Zabini she felt drained, confused, and dammit, she felt flutters in her stomach.

'_Wonderful. If that Slytherin git knew that I was even thinking these thoughts, his ego would nearly match Malfoy's on a low day… _Nearly_ of course being the operative word.'_ Ginny thought.

Of course she had noticed that Malfoy and Hermione were acting a bit odd since the beginning of the year and she knew that it went beyond them being in close quarters. Thinking about the two should have distracted her but thoughts of Zabini still snuck in with them.

Groaning, Ginny stomped up the stairs to her dorm, pushed open her door and went to her bunk. Hopefully he wouldn't haunt her dreams.

Hopefully he wouldn't invade her dreams like he did last night…

-

Hermione could hear the pounding of footsteps as she stroked Draco's hair with her free hand. Running feet sounding closer to her and since it didn't sound like a stampede she safely assumed that it wasn't those gathered at the entrance of the Great Hall.

The brunette also wished that it was Madame Pomfrey and Blaise, ready to take a look at the suffering Malfoy.

She stared down at him again, his face sweaty and his features still coated in pain.

"Hermione, Madame Pomfrey's here." A panting Blaised repored, his hand leaning against the stone wall as he took heaving breaths of air.

The Healer rushed to the heir of the Malfoy and Black fortunes and started to examine him. Hermione backed away to give the elder witch space to work but the blonde wouldn't let go of her hand. She tried to tug it away and gave Madame Pomfrey an embarrassed smile.

The elder woman returned it with an encouraging smile before she turned her gaze back to Malfoy. She levitated Draco slowly, Hermione rising with him due to their linked hands.

She of course would have followed the Healer to the infirmary but it seemed even in coma, the youngest Malfoy wanted to keep her close to his side.

Hermione swallowed.

Oh god. Was that a flutter in her stomach?

_Not good…_

-

Draco was in extreme pain. He kept coming in and out of unconsciousness, searching for Hermione's hand all the while. She was by his side, he was sure. He had made sure.

'_Those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends…'_

He certainly loved that phrase and it didn't matter how many times he repeated it for it held true.

Heaven help anyone who tried to get in his way in the most important matter of his entire life, he thought, as he tugged the hand he was holding closer to his chest though it pained him more. Knowing that she was right by his side, he gave in to the darkness pulling him under once again.

-

Madame Pomfrey watched the youngest Malfoy and though she worried for him, she knew there was little she could do for him. All she had given him the moment he had gotten into the infirmary was a calming draught and a cooling potion.

Instead she chose to focus on the attention that he paid to Ms. Granger who had never left his side though they had been there in the wing for at least an hour, just watching him.

She turned to the young woman who was biting her lip with worry. "Ms. Granger, would you care to explain what happened? It might help me understand which stage of the turning he is undergoing…"

Hermione swallowed and turned her large brown eyes to the elder witch. "You mean to say, Madame Pomfrey, that he is a Veela? That this turning he's undergoing is due to actual Veela blood."

"Mrs. Malfoy wrote to Professor Dumbledore and alerted teachers that might be important in this situation about what was going on with Mr. Malfoy. We've been prepared for a while though I must say that his turning is looking to be much faster than what Mrs. Malfoy has explained." She explained to the young woman. "He is most assuredly a Veela, Ms. Granger, but he may have more dominant Veela blood then even his mother predicted."

"I think she'd like to know what's going on with her son, Madame Pomfrey." Hermione told her, her gaze back on the young man lying on his back, twisting and writhing, though not as much as before. It appeared that the calming draught was working. "I'm not sure that I can leave him though. He doesn't seem to want to let go of my hand, though I do want to be the one to write to her."

Blaise, who had been off to the side, just watching the scene and his best friend carefully, piped up and said quietly, "I'll get Draco's owl and some ink and parchment for you, Hermione. You can stay here with him."

"Thank you, Blaise. I know he'd want you here too, though, in case he wakes up." The brunette sighed. "But I do think his mother would be of help…."

He smiled softly. "I'll be quick and back before he wakes up again."

She nodded. "Alright… Thank you again, Blaise."

The darkhaired boy just nodded and rushed out of the wing.

Madame Pomfrey continued to watch for a moment before she said, "Ms. Granger, just take a seat. You rushed out of the infirmary without informing me though I understand that your injury wasn't so severe that it warranted my reaction. You'll be here a while so you might as well be comfortable."

Hermione agreed and took the seat close to Draco's bed. He looked so pale. Paler than he usually was which was a frightening thought, no doubt. "Is he in a lot of pain?"

There was no use in lying to the girl since she would find out sooner or later. "More pain than you would care to realize and this is just the beginning."

"I was afraid so," the young witch sighed, staring at him.

-

When Blaise returned, he carried ink and parchment, Draco's owl perched on his shoulder and Blaise looking less than pleased.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him and he scowled upset. "What's the matter, Blaise?"

"The bird and I don't get along." He informed her with a grumpy tone of voice. "It bit me, _again._"

She looked at the bird who seemed rather smug of the fact and back out the scowling Slytherin before giving a small laugh. "I'm sure you're over-exaggerating things, Blaise. It seems like such a lovely owl. A gorgeous Great Horned Owl…"

The bird seemed rather pleased with her assessment and flew over to her shoulder, nipping her ear softly and affectionately. It turned it's head to Blaise and it might have been her imagination but did the owl lift it's talons at him?

"Oh sure, of course. You and Ares are going to get along smashingly, now aren't you?" The dark-haired young man drawled sarcastically.

Hermione smiled. "Ares. Lovely and highly uncommon."

The conscious Slytherin pinned her with a glare though it did nothing to strike fear into Hermione's heart like he had hoped it would. "Wonderful Granger. Compliment the dwarf-sized Hippogriff. I'm sure if Longbottom accidentally dumps growth potion in the Owlery, Ares will spare your life."

"_Zabini_." The Head Girl warned as she stroked Ares' dark feathers happily. "This is why, _if –_ and it's a very large if-, Neville were to accidentally do that, _this _type of childish behaviour would be why Ares would want to gouge your eyes out. He'd have just cause."

"I see." He said. "So _this_ is where your loyalty lies."

She rolled her warm brown eyes up to the ceiling and stuck her hand out. "Parchment and ink, Zabini."

The young man walked closer to her and handed her the requested items before staring at his best friend who seemed better than he had been. "Has he woken up at all?"

"He's been in and out of it," The Gryffindor informed him, biting her lip as she carefully removed and unlaced her fingers from Draco's.

The blond seemed to sense that she was pulling away and his mouth formed into a frown, brows furrowing. Hermione noticed and murmured, "I'll be right beside you, Draco. I just need to write to your mother."

She removed her hand from his fully and smoothed his brow before turning to write the letter. Of course she was aware that Zabini had watched their interactions quite intently. "Stop staring, Blaise or I will personally feed Ares the growth potion myself."

He of course, Slytherin to the core, took the road of self-preservation and stared at the Malfoy heir himself, accioing a chair and moving it to be across from Hermione's in front of the bed.

-

The brown eyed witch bit her bottom lip, wondering what to write to the ever elusive and no doubt high maintenance mother of her apparent mate.

'_Wonderful,'_ Hermione thought. _'I get to write a letter to a woman who for all these years must have heard many things about me and my background, giving her cause to hate me.'_

She sighed. _'How shall I go about writing this letter?'_

The young woman decided to write a letter that was purely ridiculous so she could get rid of such thoughts before writing her actual letter as to not write anything that would reflect badly on herself and her thoughts on Draco's mother's character. Her gag letter went as follows:

_Dearest -well, not really…at least not to me, but to your son- Mrs. Malfoy -or will you be changing it to Black since your Death Eater husband who tried to kill me is now dead thanks to one of my friends-,_

_-I didn't want to use Dearest Mummy-in-law, since that would sound too forward and my first impressions and memories of you weren't all that pleasant so I'm rather dreading the thought of you being my mother-in-law. My cousin Penelope doesn't get along with her in-law's and does all she can to avoid- Well that doesn't really matter… And I'm jumping ahead of myself since I'm not even sure what's going on with me and your son…-_

_Ignore that top part, Mrs… Erm… Draco's mum. The real reason I've written is due to this._

_Your son is currently lying on a bed in extreme pain. It seems so bad, it's almost looking worse than death. Please keep in mind that I said _almost._ That's no reason to worry though. I'm sure he'll manage._

_I think you're more likely to kick the bucket since I'm apparently going to be your daughter-in-law if what your son has been saying is true. How willing are you to allow me, a muggleborn, into your family and letting me taint your bloodline? Though I think you'd be rather dim-witted if you think that I'm tainting your bloodline. I'm sure your husband did that enough, git that he was. _

_I'm not sure whether to hope you were in a good mood before receiving this letter so that you at least had a pleasant morning or hoping you were in a bad mood, tossing this large chunk of news in there and this not destroying a perfectly good day. Well, whatever the case may be, if you know something that will help Draco, could you please send it? I don't think he's going to die any time soon but I'm not a Healer so no promises there._

_-Not that I don't care whether he lives or not. Sure, he traumatized me for years but, I'm sure if what he says is true, it's basic kindergarten psychology. I'm extremely worried about his well being at the moment, and if you have a cure to send for a fluttering stomach, please send that as well. I'm sure there's a rational explanation beyond developing feelings of infatuation for someone. Probably a flu or a bug. One possibility, I ate Rita Skeeter in her illegal, unregistered animagous form. Send stomach cure anyway.-_

_I think that basically covers all I needed to ask of you, Mrs. Draco's mum. I'm hoping that we can at least try not to kill each other during Christmas for the children's sake… It'd be detrimental to their mental health if we painted the room red with human paint… Yet we're assuming things again. Besides, like I said, it's Rita Skeeter, not feelings._

_Yours -well, I shouldn't write that either because Draco seems to be _slightly_ possessive of me so it's better if I put..- HIS_,

_Hermione Granger_

She nodded. Alright, time for the actual letter. This went as follows, though much shorter than the other letter, and with better flow and grammar, that's for certain.

_To the honourable Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy-Black,_

_Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry if you finds the news distressing but Draco has found himself in the infirmary and he seems to be in a great amount of pain. We were near the Great Hall when he suddenly fell to the floor, crying out. He seems to be in a great deal of discomfort but we have very little idea as to what to do to help him._

_Blaise Zabini, who was with us when this occurred, informed me it has something to do with his turning and Madame Pomfrey confirmed his thoughts. His Veela blood seems to be quite strong and dominant in his system. If there is anything you know that we can do or some information you can send so that we may help him would be much appreciated._

_His pain is rather distressing and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is worried about his welfare at the moment. Any information that might help him and his current situation is gladly accepted._

_Hermione Granger,_

_Hogwarts Head Girl_

She tied the finished letter to Ares' outstretched leg and murmured, "Narcissa Malfoy."

He hooted in understanding before taking off in an open window.

-

Richard found it rather unsettling to have so many gazes on him. What did they expect of him? He couldn't entertain them, he wasn't a performer and didn't have any performing arts talents.

'_Though you do dance the Chicken Dance quite well…'_ he thought to himself. _'But that's besides the point. It'd be in your best interest to go see Hermione.'_

He knew Hermione attended Hogwarts. It was hard not to hear of the Golden Trio no matter where you were in the Wizarding World. He'd kept track of one of his best friend's of course but he hadn't told her that he was a wizard.

There just wasn't enough time to tell her. He wanted to tell her in person but with the War and everything happening all at once, Richard understood it would be too overwhelming and not the time to tell her.

Now, as it was, he'd have ample time and opportunity to tell her if he ever got away from the stares. If not, he'd dig himself a hole and stay there until all the attention focused on him died down.

He had to find Hermione. Not only because he needed to see one familiar face in the crowd or the fact that he wanted to see how she was doing. No. It was more a reason of personal safety. In the Great Hall there were many eyes on him but he had felt one in particular.

It was a rather threatening gaze that he didn't turn to meet in fear of convulsing into flames on the spot and dying a horrible and painful death. There had been a tingling of fear running up and down his spine and it was almost like a warning… Then of course the stabbing feeling at the back of his head like someone trying to burn holes into him...

Hopefully he hadn't done something offensive that to him would have seemed ordinary. Whatever it was, whatever he was being warned off from, he'd stay away. That was clear and he had taken note to listen. Besides, all he was going to do was see his best friend. What could be the harm?

_Wrong move._

-

**A/N: So there you have it. Chapter 9. Tadaa! So Richard and Hermione are gonna meet up in the next chapter and that chapter has already been started. Narcissa returns Hermione's letter and there's a surprise… More of the plot unravels and I've left yet another cliffy. Yay me!**

**Anyways, onto the Q&A!**

**lvswtht: A bit of foreshadowing?**

**Ally: **_Definitely. Hehe. See, this is why I like you. You're one smart cookie._

**pussycat06: What's going on with Draco?**

**Ally:**_ Everyone wants to know what's going on with Draco, huh. So I'll explain a bit more. Draco's Veela blood is becoming the dominant blood. It's part of the entire turning experience for the Veela alone and has nothing to do with the courtship. It's the turning. It's basically his entire body and it appears he might have more Veela blood than what they assumed._

**PinkSlytherin: How will Richard react to seeing Hermione?**

**Ally:**_Relief…in the beginning…_

**Panther Eyes: Giving Blaise a break…**

**Ally: **_Oh, Blaise is a tough guy. He can take it and as the authoress, for his suffering, I'm giving him quite a sweet ending later on._

**Marmalade Fever: Reading too much fanfic…**

**Ally:**_I know what you mean! Oh my vegetables. I've read so many on all my favourite movies, books and shows that it's hard to keep them all straight and understand which of my favourite quotes came from which category and so on and so forth… Plus I'm getting the fanfics mixed up with books I've read and … Let's just say that me and Hermione would be bookworm sisters…_

**jkrowlingrox: Does the red in his eyes mean more than the black? When Draco is done turning, what will be different about him?**

**Ally:**_The red means a bit more than black. It's actual far more threatening –at least in this story- for a Veela to have red bleeding into the eyes. Basically it means that you should run in the other direction…_

_As for differences in Draco, he'll be far more gorgeous than he already is. I mean seriously... Well toned physique since his blood will gnaw away at unwanted fat for the rest of his long life, his hair will be longer and shine more… His eyes will stay the same colour but they'll change more often and far quicker than they do now. His senses are better. Those are the main changes._

**Gryfferin Princess: Philippines.**

**Ally: **_Quezon and other places. Lucky you. I miss living there and my family there._

**SilverSerpent122: Philippines is amazing.**

**Ally: **_I know. Gosh, I miss my birth country… And I added the recap just for you. Feel special. –insert my cheesy grin-_

**Sukie-san: Huge fight once the air is being cleared?**

**Ally: **_Of course. Testosterone levels will be unbelievably high._

**amaaaziingdmc****: What happened to Draco? Many conversations all at once?**

**Ally: **_Nope. It was the turning. Painful thing, that. And as for answering your questions? It's no problem, really. I enjoy hearing from my readers since I know that there are people out there enjoying my story._

**malfoylover1: How long is this story going to be?**

**Ally:**_ Seriously? I have no idea. I'm just writing it as I go. It's appearing to be more than 30 chapters…_

**And that is the end of this Q&A session. If I missed your question, sorry again. For all those whose sanity and well-beings are at my hands if I don't update, here is that update for you all. I'm glad you're all loving it. In fact, you made my day with all those wonderful reviews. The longer the better. Seriously. Long reviews, long chapters. – hint hint-**

**Thanks again for all the support. Thanks for the loyalty. You make me blush with your praise but it's all much appreciated.**

**Read and Review. Long Reviews are loved. All reviews are loved eternally.**

**Until the next chapter, **

**Ally**


	10. X

**A/N: Alright, here is the highly anticipated next chapter of 'Oh My Veela'. My beloved fic. First of all, thank you for your sympathies and thoughts as my family and I go through this tough time of losing a loved one. This chapter is dedicated to all of you and of course, to my beloved grandfather.**

**Now, I know you all want to kill me **_**because**_** I've taken such a long time to post BUT I promise I'll be updating more frequently since I'm on summer hols after the nineteenth. I'm supposed to be studying but I know I kept you all waiting for so long.**

**My awesome reviewers for the last chapter and previous author's notes are here.**

**(Order from newest to oldest for all)**

_**Author's Note 2**_

**.xXx, Alimew Fire, jesluvzzac, boobay, Lil' Evil Angel, Hina Ata, kahiafreedom, Twilight1243, seargentlambchop, LeytonTilEnd**

**FIRST REVIEWER: Gryfferin Princess**

_**Author's Note 1:**_

**November Dreamer, kahiafreedom, krissie92, NiminariAmriath, Binxs1, missevilprincess, CheekySweetChic, StillBlushing, Monki-Neko, mikenewtonislove, Dreamer, aragornsgirll, Joseph Santiago, Rebecca, disenchanted13, whateverworks, golden phoenix90, Lost-Lotus, Le soleil brille pas pour toi, BookQn, goldeneyez-x, Lina Mistress of Elements, BlackDemonAngel, lvswtht, zabinilover, Hina Ata, Panther Eyes, lovely obsession, Gryfferin Princess, nine, vampiregurl**

**FIRST REVIEWER: pstibbons**

_**Chapter 9**_

**alf05, RosexDimitry JamesxBella, mlui, IsabellaClaire, whateverworks, Discus-Girl, smoothie888, amber, slayerb8, dracoisforever, Time-and-Place, Paris Hilton, BottledPepsi, Skydancinghobbit, A, VeelaBloodedGhurl, hellsmile89, Asinah, confused-Luna, Pocket-93, quivering quill, little miss michelle, QuirannaLylith, SoTheresThisGuy, Jude136, soccer-vampire-girl, malfoylover1, Hina Ata, BlackDemonAngel, PinkMusicalCherry, ginsensu, ilovenat1995, vampiregurl, bottomandbeaner, keske, Kichou, Demoness-MarlstonWelss69ner, gERMaNgIrL678, -You'reQueenOfTheSuperficial-, Monki-Neko, OBLuvr13, Lost-Lotus, jazzy, sailorashes, mentarisenja, dramionerox, DragonQuillZ, dracolover69, Althia9, Secret Thought, dragonsgirl21, BlueEyedDragonChild, SilverSerpent122, Bubbles-JokerAddict, lvswtht, XqueseraseraX, May Grace Malfoy, Soul Of The Dark Mark, Crazy-Cullen, Hermione-Loves-Ron16311, Lindsay, GrlWithoutAName, Panther Eyes, Marmalade Fever, LoVet, Phelix, PyroAngel8605, OneSmartCookie, jkrowlingrox, Elven at Heart, Sonia120462, Snape is Forgiven**

**FIRST REVIEWER: GiveMeTheStars**

**Okay, that is a lot of reviewers and A LOT of Q&A to answer. Haha. But anyways, here's the chapter you all nearly Avada'd me for.**

**-**

**Recap:**

Hopefully he hadn't done something offensive that to him would have seemed ordinary. Whatever it was, whatever he was being warned off from, he'd stay away. That was clear and he had taken note to listen. Besides, all he was going to do was see his best friend. What could be the harm?

_Wrong move._

-

**Chapter 10: The Fates Couldn't Wield A More Tangled Web**

Hermione sat patiently by Draco's bed, refusing to leave his side to eat dinner, not that his hand grasping hers would allow her much choice, even if she had wanted to leave.

Blaise was shifting in his chair and Hermione shot him a look, rolling her eyes. "Blaise, if you really want dinner you can go," she told him.

"If you're sure, Hermione," he said. "I'll bring you back something too."

She nodded her head in thanks and as he walked out, sighed, wondering how her life had become so intense. When she heard an almost indiscernible whimper of pain in the quiet infirmary, she turned to look at the blond, her answer clear.

The flutter in her stomach hadn't faded since she had taken his hand in hers. She was irritated, but not so much due to the fluttering as she was to the lack of reaction she had to the fluttering.

'_Flutters aren't _normal,_ Granger,' _she thought annoyed.

An amused voice seemed to seep in from the fog, deep within the recesses of her mind. _'Are the flutters for me, Hermione?'_

Brown eyes widened and looked to find Draco's eyes peeking from heavy lids.

Well if he was stalking through her mind he must be feeling slightly better. Not enough for her to exact revenge on him for worrying her, of course, but it was a definite improvement nonetheless.

"How do you feel?" she asked him softly.

'_Pain's almost like a bee sting now,' _he commented. _'My throat feels extremely raw and my ears are ringing but the rest of the body is only feeling aches and stings.'_

The brunette Gryffindor nodded before poking him in his side, causing his heavy lids to widen in pain. She nodded. "Now we're even," she told him.

'_I wasn't aware that I did anything wrong…' _When she raised a brow at him, he added, _'…recently.' _The single brow stayed lifted. _'To you.'_

"Well besides petrifying me worse than the Basilisk, of course you _haven't_ done anything." Her tone was artificial sugar. The kind of artificial sugar that clogged your arteries, slowly and silently killing you.

When she saw a shaky lifting of one side of his lips, she glared darkly. "What?"

'_You care.'_ His voice murmured teasingly in her head, echoing over and over again.

Now it was her turn to have her eyes widen. "Where in all of Wizarding London did you get such an absurd and backwards thought?"

'_It's much too late for you to lie now, love. You care.' _He told her matter-of-factly. _'Hmm… Well, you've always _cared _but now you're finally admitting it to yourself. I'm proud. If it takes my winding up in the infirmary to get you to realize it, I'll just have to find myself in more accidents.'_

Her glare was evident. "If you so much as _dare_ to _think_ that thought again, Draco Malfoy, I will never so much as look in your direction."

'_Careful now, love. You're opening up too many cans of touchy-feely. But say it with me now. You_ care. _You _care. _In fact, you're probably just waking up to the realization that you more than care.'_

She huffed choosing not to say anything that he could use against her. Or lead her to confess to something she was finding herself guilty of.

Like manslaughter isn't really murder but you did kill someone.

She gave a little mental gasp. Had she really just compared love with murder?

...Had she really just thought love?

'_Love? What's this about love? Love of _me_?'_ The Slytherin sounded much too pleased with himself.

"I did not." Hermione told him primly. "You're hallucinating, I'm sure, what with the potion that Madame Pomfrey gave you."

The chuckle in her head was far from reassuring.

A retort was ready to spew forth from her lips when Blaise waltzed into the Infirmary looking quite delighted. "I come bearing food."

"Is that a _whole_ cheesecake?" The Head Girl asked, curious amusement lacing her tone.

"Well, what if Draco needed a cheesecake?" He asked her. "To, you know, heal."

She laughed. "He says his throat is so raw water would probably hurt and you want to feed him cheesecake?"

"Cheesecake is the elixir of life except without it being an elixir," The blue eyed boy told her nodding. "Really Granger, you're supposed to be the brightest witch of our age."

A raspy voice interrupted the friendly banter. "Could someone pay attention to the injured party on the bed?"

"You're far too needy for your own good," the brunette murmured though she gave him her full attention the moment she heard his voice. "What is it?"

He peeked open his eyes. "Madame Pomfrey?"

"Yes, alright." The young woman nodded and was about to move from her sitting position by his bed when his pale hand grasped hers to tug her back down.

Her large eyes turned to his but he just looked at Blaise and tilted his head slightly, his best friend standing up wordlessly to get the Healer.

-

When Madame Pomfrey had finished administering the potion that would ease the ache in Draco's muscles, he was told to get more rest with the incentive of being able to leave after another quick inspection of his health the next morning.

He seemed pleased about that piece of news but had shown his dislike of Hermione having to leave his side with a deep frown marring his face.

"You'll be out tomorrow, Dra-_Malfoy._" Hermione had said.

'_But that's _tomorrow,_' _Came the voiced thought that she had now become much too familiar with hearing inside her own head. _'And it's so early!'_

She rolled her eyes. "You'll need all the rest you can get, Malfoy. Stop arguing with me."

Blaise looked at her. "Hermione, he hasn't said anything."

"Tell that to the voice in my head," she retorted, extricating her hand from the blond on the bed's and waving goodbye before walking out.

-

The young witch wandered the halls wishing that there was more time for her to go the library to look up more information on Veela's. As it was, she was feeling more than a little confused on what was going on with her. It was as if a part of her was slowly succumbing to Malfoy.

'As if you weren't already surrendering,' a voice taunted. 'He's the only person you can debate and argue with on things other than eating habbits.'

A mental image of Ron popped into her mind, forcing her to grimace.

Walking down the halls towards the dorms she now shared with Draco, Hermione wondered what to do with her situation. She had read in 'Magical Breeding', which was a gift from Hagrid, that Veela's hadn't been thoroughly studied.

There were many lost books, some only a dozen copies or more printed. The largest collection was said to be owned by the black family but she knew for a fact that Sirius' library held nothing of the sort so...

Narcissa Black.

She muttered the password to the portrait and walked in, nearly jumping in schock at the many owls waiting for her. All carried different packages of sorts and she surveyed the room. There on the couch was Ares, apparently making his moves on a tawny owl.

_'Even his owl is a flirt,'_ she thought amusedly before calling out, "Ares."

The owl turned it's head to look at her, swooping in regally onto her shoulder holding out his leg with a missive attached.

_To Miss Hermione Granger_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I have to admit that your letter was quite distressing but I am afraid that it is the only way. I'm sure by now you must have been informed but if not, I think it best that you know now. Draco is a Veela. The strength of the blood had most likely come from my father for he was Veela three quarters. _

_I must say, Miss Granger, the worst of his battle is to come. Some Veela's before the turning go slightly mad from pain if they survive the pain of if they survive the pain of the turning. Knowing my son, he will not appreciate my being there to baby him but I worry greatly for my son. I know he is strong enough to overcome this but a mother always worries for her child. I ask, Miss Granger, that you be there for him. Under the circumstances I think he'd trip over you being there for him in sheer happiness._

_I've sent quite a few books and items that I think might be of value to you and Draco. I do hope it's enough for now. I'm doing a thorough search of the Manor and vault for any information. Maybe you can do with a few more items... Instructions are in the package with Hades and Persephone's picture on the cover. _

_Send my regards and love to Draco,_

_Narcissa B. Malfoy_

_P.S. Miss Granger, there are apparently some naughty perks to being a Veela mate and I do so wish for grandchildren..._

Hermione's eyes reeled at the latter choice of words. _'Did Narcissa Malfoy give me the go ahead to sexually harass her son?'_

The line of thought was cut off as the owls all hooted, lining up behind Ares who blinked at her. She sighed as he moved aside allowing the next owl to come up.

Hours later, when she had untied fifty packages off of numerous owls, Hermione offered the bird army food before their long journey back to Malfoy Manor.

Hermione muttered tiredly, picking up the book Narcissa had referred to her.

_'H.G._

_I do so hope none of these owls were intercepted by anyone. I fear that it might eat their hands. This is, of course one of the more tame books._

_The best information on Veela's is found in the... darker books. No names will be mentioned but as his mate you will be able to open them. Those with Veela blood, even a little, can of couse hold and open the book. It's best to keep these volumes out of the hands of those who are not Veela or their mates. _

_Everything else is self-explanatory._

_N.B.M'_

She eyed all of the books excitedly, as only a book aficionado would be able to. Forget the… sexual perks. There was something to be said about the more knowledgable ones.

-

Richard sighed, wondering where he was going to find Hermione in a castle this large. People had given him strange looks all morning and this was getting absolutely ridiculous. Just as he absently bent down to tie his shoe, he accidentally made a poor young man trip over him.

Well, didn't that just make him more endearing to everyone. He sure knew how to make friends…

"I'm so sorry," he told the young man, standing up and offering his arm.

The young man grumbled, staring at his dropped cake longingly before glaring darkly at him. "As you should be."

The new boy jumped. "Well, it's only cake!"

"And you're only the new kid!" He snapped. "That was cheesecake! _Cheese_cake. Not sponge cake or that blasted fruit cake muggles send out for Christmas. _Cheese_cake."

"Oh… Well, I'm Richard Kendricks," he introduced himself awkwardly.

He watched the boy roll his eyes. "Yes, I know exactly who you are." The young man's eyes narrowed. "If I were you I'd stay far, far away from Hermione Granger."

Thinking he was making a joke, Richard chuckled until he saw the other boy wasn't joining him. "What, do you have some sort of claim on her or something?"

"I don't, but someone else _does,_" he told him. "And he'll make you look far worse than my cheesecake could."

With that, the dark haired young man lifted his nose in disdain and stalked off, talking about tickling a pear and a house elf named Dobby.

Was it normal to feel a prickling of a noose due to a thinly veiled threat involving cake?

He groaned pitifully; there was just this feeling in the pit of his gut that someone was going to get hurt real bad and it was probably going to be him.

-

**A/N: Well there you all go. Another chapter of my baby is done. Sorry it wasn't as long as you were expecting but I've been writing a new one-shot. I want to inform you that I'm going to be posting up another Draco and Hermione Veela fic but this will be Rated M and it's going to be a dark!fic. It was a challenge from my friends who are also going to be writing something in the future. I wasn't supposed to write Rated M but a challenge is a challenge. So for all of you fans looking to read great dark!fics of DMHG here is one. It's going to be really long. 11,000 words excluding author's note! That's going up on June 24 so look out for that. This account will contain **_**only**_** Rated K-T. Rated M will go under my other account: **

**Sarcastic Charms**

**Link is on my profile. All links, mine and my friends' accounts will be on my profile.**

**NOW FOR Q&A!**

**To all those that wanted the gag letter to be sent, read the answer to XqueseraseraX below please! For Ginny and Blaise answer, refer to OneSmartCookie's response from me. Check below just in case I answered your question if I felt it was different to the other questions pertaining to the GWBZ or the gag letter.**

**jkrowlingrox: I like Ares!**

**Ally: **_I'm really into Greek mythology. I love Ares. And I was a 90's child so I watched a lot of Xena with my grandma. I fell in love with Ares&Xena. Once again, not canon, but my love._

**OneSmartCookie: (paraphrased) Is Draco going to be friends with Richard for Hermione or will it be a feud? Ginny and Blaise, will they or won't they? Do all Veela's go through turning stages and does it vary by Veela blood?**

**Ally:** _Draco is always going to be jealous and possessive of Hermione. It's just the Veela nature but there's something about Richard that he doesn't trust. Ginny and Blaise will obviously, undeniably wind up with each other. It's just the romantic in me craving for happy endings._

_And in the Ally!verse, all non-full-blooded Veela's will undergo turning stages and the amount of Veela blood they have will determine their turning._

_P.S. Glad you asked!_

**Panther Eyes: Will Narcissa visit Hogwarts? Will Richard live through his stay at Hogwarts?**

**Ally: **_Narcissa will be popping up at Hogwarts but that's still in the distant future. Richard will live through his stay at Hogwarts but barely (since I'm going to put him through a lot – it's just 'cause I'm on Team DMHG! Hehe)_

**Hermone-Loves-Ron16311****: What is the turning? Why is it causing Draco pain? **

**Ally: **_Draco is a Veela and becoming a Veela causes the body to change. Essentially, you're remaking the DNA to incorporate all of the special abilities a Veela will have. Changing DNA, I imagine, would be quite painful. Hope that helps lessen the confusion!_

**Soul of the Dark Mark: HarryxGinny possibility?**

**Ally: **_N to the O. Haha, actually, you're correct. Some minor HPGW but nothing too much. I can only handle Ginny and Harry for so long before it's like Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice minus the Chemical X making the Powerpuff Girls. P.S. I disclaim the Powerpuffs too! I definitely don't own them._

**May Grace Malfoy: You're Filipino?**

**Ally: **_I am indeed Filipino._

**XqueseraseraX: Wouldn't it be funny if Hermione sent the gag letter?**

**Ally: **_I know some people had hoped that Hermione sent the gag letter, but for me that would have been cruel and unusual punishment. The girl has enough to deal with trying to keep all her male friends alive without the wrath of Draco hailing down on them. But I will give you a tidbit… There's a letter Blaise accidentally sends to the Weasley family… Other than _that_ my lips are sealed… virtually._

**To all those that wanted the gag letter to be sent, read the above answer to XqueseraseraX please!**

**Bubbles-ZeeCrzy1****: Hermione meeting up with Richard soon? Will Draco be alright?**

**Ally: **_Yes. Next chapter! As for Draco, he'll be fine. He's made of stronger stuff. In my girly fantasies he is one drop of DNA short from a Greek Demi-God. Please move over, Hercules, you're stealing Draco's spotlight. Hehe._

**SilverSerpernt122: I feel special.**

**Ally: **_You _are_ special. Tres special. All my reviewers are special. Hehe. But, for an ego boost, you are _extra_ special. Haha._

**dramionerox: Were all of the things in the gag letter written down or were some Hermione's thoughts.**

**Ally:**_ All of it was written down. Thanks for the long review!_

**mentarisenja: Need for dramatics!**

**Ally:**_ Much drama will be going down in the dark!fic oneshot. Yes, shameless story pimping. I feel quite literate brazen._

**jazzy: Quite possessive, our Draco, non?**

**Ally:**_Mais oui. And sorry I had to make some of this French. Haha. I meant yes, just in case you're arching your brow sardonically at my screen. While Draco realizes Hermione is her own person, he's still possessive of her. He's not controlling, he just doesn't want her to be anyone else's but his. There's no other way to say it except: Veela._

**Lotus-lotus: Dog sitting and crazy messages.**

**Ally: **_Dog sitting? Sounds like my friend and the crazy messages sounds like my other friend though the messages were more drunken dials slash texts. Funny enough, these are the two writing the challenge with me. Just had to comment on your review. Don't worry about long reviews. I love them._

**Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner****: Richard's real and not a figment of Hermione's imagination? Will Harry and Ron find out about the Veela that is Malfoy?**

**Ally:**_ Yes, he's real. Hermione's not nuts. And yes, Harry and Ron will find out all about Draco in the least best way possible…_

**keske: ****Anime fics over HP fics.**

**Ally:**_ I admit I read fics beyond HP and I'm proud. I dabble into fiction of all things I enjoy. HP, Jane Austen, Smallville; even Anime. Haha. Glad you love my fic though!_

**PinkMusicalCherry: Ginny with brown eyes!**

**Ally:**_ Thank you for noticing that. It's been fixed thanks to your keen reading. Haha. I keep thinking of another character…_

**Hina Ata: Richard's going to die, eh?**

**Ally:**_ I'm Canadian, and so the eh needed to be inserted somewhere. Haha. Richard, as I said, will… survive his ordeal… somehow._

**malfoylover1: DMHG kiss?**

**Ally: **_They've already kissed. Haha. Uhm, more kissing will be seen later._

**QuirannaLylith****: Alpha males and Intriguing Plotlines.**

**Ally: **_Haha. I paraphrased your comment like a book title I'd totally read. For all those out there, I call dibs! Hehe. Anywho, I have to agree with you. We share the same taste in reading material so if you've read any good DMHG's like that, Private Message me! I want to read more too!_

**Skydancinghobbit: If he's possessive now, what happens when they have kids?**

**Ally:**_ They'll probably get a fist full of Malfoy in their face. Oh dear. That sounds painful. By the way, great imagery with the username!_

**Discus-Girl: DMHG wedding inclusion? And will Ron and Harry fade out as Richard enters in?**

**Ally: **_There will be a wedding inclusion! Girlish squeal must be inserted here. And no, Harry and Ron won't fade out. Hermione would never allow them to fade out of her life._

**soccer-vampire-girl: It's the 20th! Where is your update?**

**Ally: **_The update is here!_

**END Q&A!**

**Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I felt that more explanations on Draco should be known soon so next chapter. I know this wasn't as humor filled but I've been writing the dark!fic so forgive me. I'm in a drama filled mood. Next update will be on Monday, June 29! I've also got a lot of other DMHG stories posted or soon-to-be-posted so look out for them.**

**Much love and reading. Review your comments and Q&A.**

**-Ally**


	11. Interlude I

**A/N: Sorry ladies and gents for the lateness that is my life. Don't eat me now. The next chapter is almost already complete but it's taken forever since I went under writer's block for the longest time and everything seemed really forced. I've worked through it though and I'm pleased to say there is some definite BlaisexGinny action going on. Quite the teaser, I know. But here's an interlude to tide you over until my next post, cross you fingers for the hope that it's soon.**

**Q&A and reviewers will all be on the next chapter since this is just an interlude type thing. You can still submit in your questions and I'll answer them in the next chapter.**

**Onto Narcissa Malfoy's thoughts on Hermione and Draco!**

**-**

Hermione had re-read Narcissa Malfoy's letter a good number of times before eyeing the books and making neat piles of each coloured tie. The blond woman seemed to tie the ribbons around each book either yellown orange or red for it's potential threat.

It was all Hermione could manage to do before heading off to bed. While the books called to her inner bookworm like a Weasley brother to food, she was too drained.

Worrying about Draco, though she wouldn't admit it, had had it's effect on her. He had just looked so pale and his face was taught with pain. It had left her beside herself.

-

As Hermione drifted off to sleep, the Malfoy matriarch sat down on her chaise within the chambers of her bedroom in the Manor, sipping her tea in quiet reflection.

Draco was undergoing the turning and it pained her with the knowledge that she could do nothing to help her son, to ease his pain, but to aid his mate.

His mate. Hermione Granger.

Narcissa would willingly admit that at first, her son's infatuation with the girl was a constant source of irritation. She had never been a fanatic against Muggleborns like Lucius had been, but she had been an elitist, finding that many Muggleborns she had met lacked refinement that Pureblood families had demanded. Never had she backed Lucius in his madness but she had shared the same opinion of their less than redeeming social grace. It had turned her blood when her son had come home and she had overheard his conversation with Blaise.

It had taken her time to come to terms with his feelings for the young witch but she did overcome them, with her son in mind. There had been extremely difficult moments, when all she wanted to do was speak to her son and demand he get over the Granger girl. Certainly there were moments where she had even considered underhanded Slytherin tactics to get her way in the matter. But always at the end of the day, she knew in her heart she would do nothing to shatter the happiness her son had finally managed to find within the cold world he had unwillingly become entrenched in. And slowly, she had come to see Hermione Granger in a better light, enough to see what had attracted her son to the brunette.

When the war had gotten even more severe, she had seen how the young woman had held herself in the face of adversity. She was not girl, yes, but she had barely stepped foot into womanhood yet she knew how to gain respect from those around her and had never wilted when even the most foul of insults had been hurtled at her along with the darkest of spells and curses.

In those moments, Hermione Granger had unknowingly earned Narcissa's respect.

The time that Draco had told her who his blood had chosen, she had had some suspicions that it would be the young witch who had captivated him for so long. When years before it would have turned her stomach that a Muggleborn would be bound to her son, it had at that moment been a calm acceptance of the ever changing times and opinions of the world and her perception of it. She had come to respect the brilliant young woman, enough to acknowledge that she would be a perfect balance and anchor in her son's life and what would be a tumultuous year as they start their relationship.

In truth, she also acknowledged that even if she hadn't wanted Hermione with her son, there was nothing she could have done to change the calling of Draco's blood. She would have lost her son if she had failed to accept the mate who was at the very core of importance to a Veela. It was a purely selfish point but one she would admit she had included in her reasoning.

The blond sighed, swirling her tea in her tea cup before taking another sip, her mouth tugging upwards into a small smile as she thought of the note she received.

The witch was well suited to her son and from all that she had heard and seen from Hermione, Narcissa knew her son had chosen well. Though it pained her, like it did every mother, to watch another woman take importance in her son's life, she was assured that she wasn't putting her son's heart in jeopardy of damage.

She put down the empty cup onto the small glass coffee table for a house elf to attend to and went to bed with the knowledge that her son would be taken care of.

Besides, a wicked part of her thought that maybe karma had a funny sense of humour, giving her this reward, because as adorable as Draco had been as a child, he had been and always would be quite the devil to handle. _Good luck, Hermione._

**-**

**A/N: And the Malfoy matriarch has spoken. Hehe. Hope you enjoyed that tiny snippet of 'A Day In the Life of'. Next chapter is being laboured over, no throwing stones at the authoress please. I swear you'll love the next edition.**


	12. XI

**A/N: Big news! I met TOM FELTON! Thee actor of Draco Malfoy, aka, our favourite bad boy. His schedule was jam packed but I managed to see him up close, though I unfortunately did not get his autograph. And I've had a very tiresome few weeks, sorry I haven't updated in a long while. There was just no time. I promise I'll do better so let's not throw stones at me? Please and thanks.**

**And… special thanks to Martin who informed me that someone's taken it in their hands to attempt to rewrite this story. I may be inactive too often, but I'm not giving this baby up. I've got too many people enjoying this.**

**To all of the Felton girls, and my lovely Readers and Reviewers, this one is for you. (I haven't been on enough to get a full list but I promise next chapter, I will.)**

**Recap**

_Was it normal to feel a prickling of a noose due to a thinly veiled threat involving cake?_

_He groaned pitifully; there was just this feeling in the pit of his gut that someone was going to get hurt real bad and it was probably going to be him._

**Chapter 11: Where Snakes Lie**

The next morning, Hermione stretched out of bed, much more refreshed though still just as confused with herself as she had been yesterday.

After righting herself for the day, Hermione grabbed a thinner book with a yellow tab from the many piles stacked within the shared Heads Common Room, heading out with the intention of speaking with Ginny.

It was much too early for anyone to be up but Draco would whine on how she, the Gryffindor, had given her word and hadn't pulled through. He'd do it more to annoy her than anything. That and he'd glower at her for forcing him to stay in a place he abhorred being in.

The curly haired witch knew that she probably looked strange running about so early but there really was no other solution.

She rushed towards the Gryffindor Common Room and muttered the passwors to an irritated Fat Lady who was still very much asleep if the curlers and eyemask were to be some sort of indication.

The brunette fleetingly wondered from which portraits she had managed to nab the items from as she stepped inside, surprised to find the redhead she had come to find, brooding infront of the unlit fire place, still in her pajamas.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked softly as she approached the comfortable red couch.

The youngest Weasley jumped in shock, pressing her hand to her throat.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, her brown eyes still widened in alert. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I needed to see someone who could provide feminine insight to a minor... predicament I've seemed to have irrevocably become intertwined with."

The redheaded young woman frowned, before giving her friend a wide doe-eyed look of guilt as she worriedd her lip with her teeth. "Me too."

They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing where to start and who'd speak up first.

"I'm going to make Ron and Harry go mad," Hermione murmured. "In fact, I quite think I'll make myself mad by trying to work out what's going on inside my head and heart."

"My brother and Harry won't be happy with me either," said the youngest Weasley in response.

The brunette shook her head, curls tumbling in front of her face slightly. "Not as upset as they'll be with me, trust me."

"Hermione, you don't understand." Ginny took a deep breath and muttered, "I have a date, 'Mione. And as much of git as my brother is, his opinion still matters to me."

"Gin, with time, I'm sure Ron will come around. He's grown from a teaspoon to a serving spoon," she teased, hoping to make the younger girl smile.

The Gryffindor Prefect sighed. "It's not with just anyone, 'Mione, it's with Blaise."

Hermione blinked in shock. For a while she had known that Ginny had a crush on the dark, and mischevous Blaise Zabini. She also knew that because of the coiled tension inside of her friend, she was prone to being snappish with him and left her kicking herself afterwards. It amazed her that Ginny looked past her temporary irritation to accept an invitation from Blaise.

"What?" Hermione asked feeling less brilliant than everyone claimed she was for her stupid question.

Ginny murmured, "It happened like this..."

"_Draco's not going to be too pleased with this," Blaise murmured to Pansy._

_Ginny, who had been heading towards the library, paused in her steps and hid behind an alcove nearby the two Slytherin senior students._

_Pansy shrugged. "The boy's in our house, now. We'll take care of him."_

"_Means to an ends, Pansy?" The male chuckled lowly. "I'm not saying I don't agree. Not here two weeks and he's already involved himself in something he shouldn't meddle with."_

"_Your Gryffindor is in an alcove," Pansy informed, and Ginny's eyes widened._

_His laugh was audible to her ears in the nearly empty corridor. "I find it amusing that they think they can sneak around."_

"_Well, I'll admit that Potter's group is slightly less obvious than the rest of their lot." Pansy hummed, before she placed a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Speaking of Potter, I think I'll go antagonize him now, since you'll ignore me for a ginger."_

"_I'm sure we'll discuss the matter with Draco." Blaise murmured. _

"_I still don't understand what his grudge is beyond the obvious but no matter, I'm sure Draco has his reasons." She told him. "Ciao, Blaise."_

_And as her footsteps trailed down the corridor, Blaise appeared before the redhead, a smirk on his face. "Hear anything interesting?"_

_She opened her mouth, trying to figure out who best to approach the subject of her eavesdropping._

"_Well, of course you didn't. You only heard what we wanted you to hear," The male told her smugly, finding her bristle in anger. People would be surprised to find Ginny could be just as indignant as Hermione. "Now now, no need to tense up, love. Give me a kiss and I'll forgive you."_

"_I'd rather kiss a Thestral," Ginny muttered darkly._

"_I'm readily available and easier to find," he murmured, leaning forward as she backed herself up further within the darkened space as she pushed at him with her hands._

"_You're disgusting, Zabini," the youngest Weasley muttered. "Utterly, irrevocably underhanded."_

"_Why thank you," his voice murmured against her ear._

_She shivered. "I hate you."_

"_Do you really?" He asked._

"_Yes."_

"_Am I heinous?" His eyes were bright._

"_Very much so."_

"_Too heinous to kiss?" Said lips were turning up in a smirk._

"_Undeniably." Ginny whispered._

"_Go out with me anyway?"_

"_Obviously," she muttered without considering all he said._

_His eyes were alit, as he backed away from her. "I knew you'd see things my way. I'll owl you with the date and time. Now I'll let you be on your merry way. I've probably made you late for that study session with Luna. As it is, I need to go get some cheesecake to bring back to the infirmary."_

_And he turned the corner, leaving her frozen._

Hermione's eyes were slightly wide, the corners of her lips twitching upwards just slightly. _'Slytherins seem to like dark alcoves.'_

'_Why yes, we do. Do you need a demonstration, love?'_ Draco's voice came loud and clear.

'_Personal space, Draco. Get out of my head.' _She stated, as Ginny continued to worry her lip.

The sigh she received in her head made her roll her eyes at the theatrics. He sounded so put out. _'Dark alcoves later, I'm sure.'_

And his voice echoed out as fast as it had come.

"Hermione?" Ginny called out to her, waving a freckled hand in her face, before Hermione snapped her eyes back to her. "Merlin, if you react like that, I don't even want to know how my brothers will act."

Hermione turned her brown eyes towards the younger witch, the pupils alight with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Gin, my mind just got caught up elsewhere." She placed a hand on her friend's. "You've had feelings for him for a while, Gin, and I'm certain that your brothers will somehow manage to wrap their overprotective heads around the thought. They might be upset, because they think he would hurt you, but if he makes you happy, they'll learn to move past it."

"Harry might not speak to me if I do go through with the date, 'Mione." Ginny murmured. "He's still my friend. And he's my brother's best mate."

The brunette frowned. "Harry's not going to hate you, Gin. He may be upset, but that's only because he's had feelings for you before."

Quiet settled between the two as Ginny digested the advice Hermione had given her. She turned towards her friend, tilting her head. "What's going on with you, 'Mione? You and Malfoy…"

"Draco," Hermione murmured. "It's complicated. And not just, 'his-father-was-an-evil-sociopath-hell-bent-on-assisting-in-killing-me-and-countless-others' type of complicated."

"I'm sure-"

"He's a Veela, Gin," Hermione murmured, unable to hide it from another friend. "I'm his mate."

"_Bloody hell_."

In another part of the castle, Draco Malfoy stretched in his hospital wing bed, tapping his fingers as he waited for Blaise while Madam Pomfrey eyed him as warily as one would a caged Hippogriff.

"Mr. Malfoy, I trust you won't be looking for trouble so soon after your release?" She asked him, her lips a thin line of disapproval.

He gave her a disarming smile, charming all on its own. "Now Madam Pomfrey, I never go looking for trouble. I'm not Potter."

The Healer opened her mouth when Blaise sauntered in. "Shall I take him off your hands, Madam Pomfrey?"

"It's best that you do, Zabini," she muttered before walking off exasperatedly.

They watched her walk off, before Draco hopped off the bed. "Where has your smirk gone, Blaise? You're looking like a Hufflepuff, what with that genuine grin lighting up your face."

The Zabini heir chuckled, his baritone echoing off the walls. "Ginny Weasley has agreed to go on a date with me."

Draco smirked at his friend's smug look. "So she's succumbed, has she? Does she know there are no chances to undo saying yes?"

Blaise chuckled. "Really Draco. Why would I give her the opportunity for escape?"

"Congratulations, mate." The blond said, all manner of teasing aside for a quick moment of bonding before they replaced them with aloof Slytherin stares. "How did you manage to do it?"

"It was late in the evening and she was out on Patrol. Poor thing eavesdropped on the conversation."

"It baffles me that they think they can be so devious." Draco drawled. "They're about as subtle as a Weasley coughing slugs."

The dark haired Zabini shook his head. "You always have enjoyed that little…analogy."

"Blaise, one must never forget the simple pleasures." The blond smirked. "Now I think it would be in our best interest to take this conversation somewhere else. The walls have ears."

**A/N: Well there you all go. Another chapter of my baby is done. Sorry it wasn't as long as you were expecting but I've been caught up with school. I'm excited for more Narcissa! Oh, did I just drop a hint? I think I did. Haha. I'm considering starting a forum for this story, just so that you all may voice your opinions and ask your questions, getting them more promptly and well…just in general knowing I'm alive.**

**NOW FOR Q&A!**

**To all those that wanted the gag letter to be sent, read the answer to XqueseraseraX below please! For Ginny and Blaise answer, refer to OneSmartCookie's response from me. Check below just in case I answered your question if I felt it was different to the other questions pertaining to the GWBZ or the gag letter.**

**jkrowlingrox: I like Ares!**

**Ally: **_I'm really into Greek mythology. I love Ares. And I was a 90's child so I watched a lot of Xena with my grandma. I fell in love with Ares&Xena. Once again, not canon, but my love._

**OneSmartCookie: (paraphrased) Is Draco going to be friends with Richard for Hermione or will it be a feud? Ginny and Blaise, will they or won't they? Do all Veela's go through turning stages and does it vary by Veela blood?**

**Ally:** _Draco is always going to be jealous and possessive of Hermione. It's just the Veela nature but there's something about Richard that he doesn't trust. Ginny and Blaise will obviously, undeniably wind up with each other. It's just the romantic in me craving for happy endings._

_And in the Ally!verse, all non-full-blooded Veela's will undergo turning stages and the amount of Veela blood they have will determine their turning._

_P.S. Glad you asked!_

**Panther Eyes: Will Narcissa visit Hogwarts? Will Richard live through his stay at Hogwarts?**

**Ally: **_Narcissa will be popping up at Hogwarts but that's still in the distant future. Richard will live through his stay at Hogwarts but barely (since I'm going to put him through a lot – it's just 'cause I'm on Team DMHG! Hehe)_

**Hermone-Loves-Ron16311****: What is the turning? Why is it causing Draco pain? **

**Ally: **_Draco is a Veela and becoming a Veela causes the body to change. Essentially, you're remaking the DNA to incorporate all of the special abilities a Veela will have. Changing DNA, I imagine, would be quite painful. Hope that helps lessen the confusion!_

**Soul of the Dark Mark: HarryxGinny possibility?**

**Ally: **_N to the O. Haha, actually, you're correct. Some minor HPGW but nothing too much. I can only handle Ginny and Harry for so long before it's like Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice minus the Chemical X making the Powerpuff Girls. P.S. I disclaim the Powerpuffs too! I definitely don't own them._

**May Grace Malfoy: You're Filipino?**

**Ally: **_I am indeed Filipino._

**XqueseraseraX: Wouldn't it be funny if Hermione sent the gag letter?**

**Ally: **_I know some people had hoped that Hermione sent the gag letter, but for me that would have been cruel and unusual punishment. The girl has enough to deal with trying to keep all her male friends alive without the wrath of Draco hailing down on them. But I will give you a tidbit… There's a letter Blaise accidentally sends to the Weasley family… Other than _that_ my lips are sealed… virtually._

**To all those that wanted the gag letter to be sent, read the above answer to XqueseraseraX please!**

**Bubbles-ZeeCrzy1****: Hermione meeting up with Richard soon? Will Draco be alright?**

**Ally: **_Yes. Next chapter! As for Draco, he'll be fine. He's made of stronger stuff. In my girly fantasies he is one drop of DNA short from a Greek Demi-God. Please move over, Hercules, you're stealing Draco's spotlight. Hehe._

**SilverSerpernt122: I feel special.**

**Ally: **_You _are_ special. Tres special. All my reviewers are special. Hehe. But, for an ego boost, you are _extra_ special. Haha._

**dramionerox: Were all of the things in the gag letter written down or were some Hermione's thoughts.**

**Ally:**_ All of it was written down. Thanks for the long review!_

**mentarisenja: Need for dramatics!**

**Ally:**_ Much drama will be going down in the dark!fic oneshot. Yes, shameless story pimping. I feel quite literate brazen._

**jazzy: Quite possessive, our Draco, non?**

**Ally:**___Mais oui. And sorry I had to make some of this French. Haha. I meant yes, just in case you're arching your brow sardonically at my screen. While Draco realizes Hermione is her own person, he's still possessive of her. He's not controlling, he just doesn't want her to be anyone else's but his. There's no other way to say it except: Veela._

**Lotus-lotus: Dog sitting and crazy messages.**

**Ally: **_Dog sitting? Sounds like my friend and the crazy messages sounds like my other friend though the messages were more drunken dials slash texts. Funny enough, these are the two writing the challenge with me. Just had to comment on your review. Don't worry about long reviews. I love them._

**Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner****: Richard's real and not a figment of Hermione's imagination? Will Harry and Ron find out about the Veela that is Malfoy?**

**Ally:**_ Yes, he's real. Hermione's not nuts. And yes, Harry and Ron will find out all about Draco in the least best way possible…_

**keske: ** **Anime fics over HP fics.**

**Ally:**_ I admit I read fics beyond HP and I'm proud. I dabble into fiction of all things I enjoy. HP, Jane Austen, Smallville; even Anime. Haha. Glad you love my fic though!_

**PinkMusicalCherry: Ginny with brown eyes!**

**Ally:**_ Thank you for noticing that. It's been fixed thanks to your keen reading. Haha. I keep thinking of another character…_

**Hina Ata: Richard's going to die, eh?**

**Ally:**_ I'm Canadian, and so the eh needed to be inserted somewhere. Haha. Richard, as I said, will… survive his ordeal… somehow._

**malfoylover1: DMHG kiss?**

**Ally: **_They've already kissed. Haha. Uhm, more kissing will be seen later._

**QuirannaLylith****: Alpha males and Intriguing Plotlines.**

**Ally: **_Haha. I paraphrased your comment like a book title I'd totally read. For all those out there, I call dibs! Hehe. Anywho, I have to agree with you. We share the same taste in reading material so if you've read any good DMHG's like that, Private Message me! I want to read more too!_

**Skydancinghobbit: If he's possessive now, what happens when they have kids?**

**Ally:**_ They'll probably get a fist full of Malfoy in their face. Oh dear. That sounds painful. By the way, great imagery with the username!_

**Discus-Girl: DMHG wedding inclusion? And will Ron and Harry fade out as Richard enters in?**

**Ally: **_There will be a wedding inclusion! Girlish squeal must be inserted here. And no, Harry and Ron won't fade out. Hermione would never allow them to fade out of her life._

**soccer-vampire-girl: It's the 20th! Where is your update?**

**Ally: **_The update is here!_

**END Q&A!**

**Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I felt that more explanations on Draco should be known soon so next chapter. I know this wasn't as humor filled but I've been writing the dark!fic so forgive me. I'm in a drama filled mood. I've also got a lot of other DMHG stories posted or soon-to-be-posted so look out for them.**

**Much love and reading. Review your comments and Q&A.**

**-Ally**


	13. XII

**A/N: My lovely readers, I'm going to shorten my author's notes from now on by posting updates about this story on my writer's blog. Just click the link on my author's profile. There I'll answer all your questions and you'll know what's going on about my writing! There will also be a link to my main blog so feel free to check it out and get to know me a bit more. Anyways, on to the story!**

.

_Recap: Ginny has told Hermione about her date with Blaise, and Hermione has confided that Draco is a Veela. Meanwhile, Draco has been released from the infirmary and is now deviously plotting with Blaise. All the while, Harry, Ron and Richard remain rather oblivious to the going-on's._

_._

**Chapter 12: **

Richard wandered the castle halls, his book bag slung on his shoulder. He'd just about given up searching for Hermione the other evening after his run-in with that rather irritating boy holding cake. He figured that he would manage to run into Hermione eventually so pursuing it in a magical castle of this size was not going to do any good.

He'd heard the rumours floating about the castle grounds. He'd seen the looks. Many glares had been sent his way from his house mates.

What he'd done to bother them, he didn't know, and he would have asked if their looks hadn't been so scathing. Self-preservation, as was his House's favoured trait, was also his forte.

Rumours were still bouncing around left and right as he walked by.

"A transfer student they say," A Hufflepuff in a younger year, second probably, apparent from their height and childish features.

He turned back and called out, "Actually, I'm an exchange student. I leave by November."

The young girl stared at him wide-eyed, before averting her eyes, her cheeks pink from having been caught gossiping.

Richard turned back and continued on his path. He should try finding the Gryffindor tower again. It was his only lead so far.

.

Hermione stared at the redhead. "You know, I can probably fit a dragon's egg into your open mouth. Shall I find one to test out my theory or are you done?"

Ginny blinked in an almost trance like daze. "I'm sorry, Mione, but you have to admit that it's not something you expect to hear. Even in the Wizarding world Veela's are a thing of legend, almost."

"From the little that has been said about them in books, they're absolutely fascinating," the brunette witch admitted.

The idea of being _that_ in love, of finding that unwavering support and love, had struck a chord with Hermione. A part of her had envied it. How would it be like to be so in love and so devoted to a single person that you were bonded to them for eternity.

'_It's intense,'_ a now familiar voice sounded in her head. _'Consuming. The kind of love that starts wars, burns hot, and withstands time.'_

A part deep within Hermione's heart clenched. A part of her longed for that kind of love, another scared of the amount of vulnerability she would present in offering herself that way.

She sat there, and thought, _'I'm glad to see you're awake. You should be resting.'_

'_I feel better,'_ Draco's voice told her softly. _'Thank you for worrying about me.'_

'_I owled your mother. You should tell her you're feeling better.'_ Hermione bit her bottom lip slightly. _'After breakfast, you should get some more rest. You have no idea if whatever happened will happen again…'_

'_If it will make you feel better, love, I'll listen. I'm going to chat with Blaise for a bit over breakfast but afterwardsI'll be in our rooms, and if you need me I'm always… around.' _

He sounded so much like himself that Hermione could picture a smirk forming after his last remark. She felt a little relieved. He was feeling better.

And just as softly as he came, he retreated from her mind.

She blinked at the hand that was being waved in front of her face.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked. "Are you alright?"

The older witch nodded. "I'm sorry, I was just… lost in my thoughts I guessed."

Was it wrong that she didn't want to share this part of her relationship with Draco with anyone, just yet? She bit her bottom lip again. Was it wrong that she didn't feel as horrified as she believed she would have been at having called whatever it was she had with Draco Malfoy a relationship?

The redhead stared at her friend, a glazed look in her eyes. Confusion crowded with something akin to longing were mixed in within them.

"How about we go grab some breakfast, hmm? I think that after all of these shocking revelations we've given each other, we can at least do with a little food in our systems," Ginny smiled.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course."

Looking down at herself, Ginny laughed. "Maybe I should go put on my jumper first. I doubt I could live with the gossip if I showed my face in the Great Hall wearing these nargle print pyjamas Luna gave me for Christmas."

"But you look so lovely," Hermione giggled.

"Oh hush," Ginny tossed back at her before bumping the couch they were sitting on a little as she got up.

The tabbed yellow book that Hermione had been carrying fell helplessly to the floor, laying innocently upon the ground.

Before Hermione could reach to grab the book, Ginny had managed to pick it up.

Triumphantly the redhead held it, hoping to tease her friend about her quick reflexes honed in by countless Quidditch practices when she passed into a dead faint at her friend's feet.

Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

"Ginny!" She cried out, checking over her friend to make sure that no other physical signs of injury had occurred. Helplessly she looked around and no one was up to help her.

'_Draco,'_ she called out desperately. _'Draco please…'_

A worried voice rang out. _'Hermione? Hermione, love, are you alright? Did something happen?'_

His voice was anxious. Desperate.

'_It's not me, love, but Ginny… Meet me at the infirmary please. She just…she touched my book and then she fell over.'_

'_Blaise and I will be there. Do you need any help with her?'_

'_I think I can manage.'_

And Hermione pulled away from her thoughts and quickly levitated her friend. She couldn't carry Ginny, and while levitating the redhead would consume magic and tire her, she had no other option. She hadn't wanted to leave the young woman alone to wake any of the other girls up, nor could she run up to the boys dorms to wake Harry or Ron due to the numerous charms set on the stairs. Draco and Blaise may not know the exact route to Gryffindor tower. Levitating really was the only option.

She had just shoved open the door when she bumped into someone.

Irritatedly, she muttered, "Look, now is not the time…"

"Hermione?"

Hands reached out to lift Ginny in place of the levitating charm, as Hermione turned annoyed.

"Richard?" She glanced worriedly at her friend. "As much a pleasure as it is to see you, we really need to hurry towards the infirmary. Can you please carry her?"

He nodded and together they dashed down the stairs as fast as they could.

.

It was only much later, once Ginny was situated on a bed in the infirmary with Madame Pomfrey clucking her tongue in a reprimanding sound that Hermione could really breathe again. The book, though not a dark or sinister one, had had a few hidden charms placed upon that the mediwitch couldn't quite pinpoint the origin.

In her hysteria over seeing Ginny laying prone on the floor, Hermione had forgotten Narcissa's warning of the power of the books.

Luckily Madame Pomfrey had however found the symptoms similar to another charm, so she had poured a metallic appearing potion in Ginny's mouth that would help her to regain consciousness.

Blaise hadn't left Ginny's side, but the brunette witch was a little startled to see that Richard hovered beside the young Weasley's bed as well.

'_If only I had reached that book first…'_ Hermione thought.

Draco laid a hand on her shoulder. "You know, you shouldn't blame yourself for this."

"You shouldn't read people's minds all the time, Draco," Hermione murmured, jumping at the almost static shock she had received from his touch.

He locked eyes with her. "I didn't read your mind this time, Hermione. I just know you enough to read what you were feeling. It was in your eyes."

She had no way to respond, so instead she chose to thank him. "Thank you for telling Madame Pomfrey ahead of time what had happened. It made things move much quicker."

"Blaise had practically shouted it the moment we had reached the infirmary," Draco told her, gaining a little smile from her. He curled his fingers under her chin and titled her face up so they were looking at each other. "She'll be alright."

Hermione nodded slightly. "I seem to be finding myself here quite often now. I'd rather not take up residency here though."

"I'd rather you don't either," the blond nodded, the smile on his lips catching Hermione's attention.

"I'd kiss you but the man you claim to love is right over there," Draco nudged his head in Richard's direction. "I admit I was jealous at first but the chemistry between you two speaks nothing but platonic, so wanna try again?"

Hermione shuffled on her feet, wanting to snap that it wasn't his business, and to deny his claim, but instead she just sighed. "It was a knee jerk reaction. You just… backed me up against the wall…"

"I could back you up into a few more walls," He smirked devilishly, his eyebrows waggling slightly, forcing her to stifle a giggle.

It was so dreadfully hard to feel guilty and upset when he was around, the git.

"Is this really the time to seduce me, Malfoy?"

He chuckled. "It's always the perfect time to seduce you, Hermione. If you'd just admit you like me, even a little."

Hermione coughed. "As I was saying about Richard… He's more like my brother and from the looks of it, he seems to have gained a little crush on Ginny."

"I'm glad I don't have to add him to my death list, but Blaise will more than likely take offense, which will then make me add him back onto my list out of loyalty and friendship and all that rot you Gryffindors seem to think we don't feel," Draco told her, waving his hand in a careless gesture. "Now, back to your seduction and evasion of my question… You do realize you called me love before, don't you?"

.

**End Chapter 12**

.

**A/N: This chapter has totally changed where I was heading with the story but I definitely like it much more and don't feel so caught in a dead end with it. Review if you like, and don't forget to check my writer's blog, the link found on my author's page, if you want to ask questions about **_Oh My Veela_ **or learn about other projects I'm working on, as well as just see some delightful Dramione goodness. My main blog link will also be posted on my writer's blog.**

**Happy reading!**


	14. XIII

**A/N: Thank you all for your lovely reviews and for having faith that I do have something bigger plans for this story (which I do). Anyways, here is the rest of my story.**

**.**

_Recap_

_Ginny has ended up in the infirmary… And Draco has Hermione in a rather compromising situation…Up against the wall...And since Hermione isn't really in love with Richard…_

"_I'm glad I don't have to add him to my death list, but Blaise will more than likely take offense, which will then make me add him back onto my list out of loyalty and friendship and all that rot you Gryffindors seem to think we don't feel," Draco told her, waving his hand in a careless gesture. "Now, back to your seduction and evasion of my question… You do realize you called me love before, don't you?" _

.

**Chapter 13: Flash Fire**

Hermione's breaths were deep, heavy as she stared at Draco through hooded eyes. She watched as his gaze fell to her parted lips before his mouth was hovering over hers.

"Well?" he asked her, his gaze dark, a hazy shade of smoke that made her catch her breath.

Just as they were a hair apart, a commotion broke out by the door, startling the two.

In burst Ron and Harry, the two seemingly panting, as they rushed inside.

Draco internally cursed himself for having allowed the two banes of his existence to ruin a perfectly good moment with his mate. Hermione, though startled, watched as a vicious sneer found itself on the blonde's dramatic face, his eyes dark from passion of a different kind.

She moved to put herself between what would no doubt be another fight between Draco and Harry and Ron but the Veela's hand moved toward her waist, keeping her close, his body enfolding hers as if to block the male intruders out. Though his body was turned toward hers, his head was tilted to watch both Ron and Harry.

Ron watched Draco, his hand tugging out his wand from within his cloak. "Did you have something to do with this Malfoy?"

"Let Hermione go, Malfoy," Harry snapped.

The blonde's eyes flashed in warning. "She's not any of your concern, Potter."

Before the situation could become any more heated, Hermione moved to cover Draco's hand with hers, giving a quick squeeze before moving out of his hold and stepping between the males. The tension seemed to spark, magical energy mixed with something primal taking hold within the air.

"Now is not the time for all of you to be arguing," she told them. "We're here for Ginny."

Though none of them looked all too happy, Ron lowered his wand. As her two friends moved to step in closer towards her, she could feel a tell-tale coiled tension being emitted from the man behind her.

"What happened, Hermione?" Harry asked. "The Fat Lady was all but hysterical with the news."

Hermione shuffled her feet. "I was with Ginny when she fainted. I had come to talk to her about some things, and we were planning to go to the Great Hall for breakfast but when she got up to get dressed, my book fell over. She grabbed it before I could, and she fainted."

The two seemed to pause, before Harry asked, "What kind of book, Hermione?"

"I hadn't realized…" Hermione started, wringing her hands, still feeling incredibly guilty. "I didn't even remember she couldn't… that she shouldn't…"

"You did this to her?" Ron whispered harshly.

The brunette witch drew back, hurt by the accusation, heart heavy from the blame she'd already been placing on herself.

"She did nothing to her, Weasley, This wasn't her fault," Draco snapped.

Hermione turned to look back at him and shook her head, "Draco…"

Ron snorted, "And now you're calling the ferret Draco? Cozying up to Malfoy now, Hermione?"

"Ron, that's enough," Harry said, stopping his friend before he said something he might regret in the heat of the moment. "Hermione wouldn't hurt Ginny, and you know that. Just let her explain instead of accusing her, yeah?"

"Listen to Potter, Weaselbee," the Malfoy in question snapped. "He holds three quarters of that half a brain you both share."

Ignoring the jab at both him and Ron, Harry turned to look at Hermione questioningly.

"She touched a book about Veelas, Harry. It was enchanted to come in contact only to those with Veela blood running through their veins or to their mates," Hermione explained. "Since Ginny is neither of those things, when she touched the book, it rejected her which made her faint. Madame Pomfrey's given her a potion so she should be waking up soon."

"Veela?" Harry's eyes widened. "But that would mean that you-"

"Ginny's awake," Richard said, walking towards the tense group. He eyed the boys wearily. "You can come see her if you want. Zabini's with her now."

"Zabini?" Ron questioned. "Well this place is crawling with snakes now isn't it?"

As they walked towards Ginny's bed, Draco reluctantly allowed Hermione to go ahead with Potter, edging Weasley away so that he could block him from moving forward.

"We slither, Weasley. Quietly, and swiftly, and when we bite, it's quick and rest assured, deadly enough to kill." Malfoy whispered darkly, his eyes still charcoal. "If you ever, and I mean _ever,_ say anything untoward Hermione again, especially when I'm around, I'll make sure you breathe your last breath before you finish a sentence. I let this slide now, because that's your sister in there, and contrary to your idea of who I am and what I stand for, I have some compassion when it comes to fear over your family, but if it happens again, I will end you."

Draco turned on his heels and stalked off, walking the short distance to Ginny's bed.

.

Ginny sat up on the fluffed pillows of her bed in the infirmary. Hermione had fussed with them the moment she got to her side, making sure that she was comfortable.

"It's not your fault I'm in here," Ginny told her lightly. "I'm just going to be more careful around books of any kind, maybe pet the spines of them like that textbook Hagrid gave you."

The brunette smiled and Ginny watched as the blond male behind her hovered. She scrutinized them closely, quickly before either of them noticed, and smiled a little.

Well, they did look quite good together and Malfoy had proved to not be such an awful git all the time.

"You had us bloody worried," her brother told her, his language always so charming.

Her blue eyes twinkled. "Does that mean you'll let me eat your share of cake during Christmas dinner?"

Ron snorted, "Not bloody likely. You're alive, aren't you? Be thankful for the little things."

Harry, who stood beside Ron, rolled his eyes. "What he's trying to say is that he's glad you're alright. So am I. We nearly fell down every flight of stairs coming from the tower, and we nearly fell _up_ every flight of stairs getting up here."

"I'm sure I've told you and Weasel before that you have the feet of trolls," drawled Malfoy, a smirk turning up on his face.

Richard, who Ginny hadn't remembered carrying her down, seemed to take it all in with amusement, as Hermione rolled her eyes at the byplay.

It was Zabini, however, who's gaze had never left hers. And Ginny knew this because it was strong enough to have her shifting in her spot, looking anywhere but at him. They hadn't had any chance run-ins since he had managed to talk her into going out with him on some unspecified date.

"As much fun as it is to have all this Slytherin company," Ron stated, his tone sarcastic, "I don't think we need you here so you can go."

"Ronald," Hermione snapped, "Your manners are appalling."

"No, _they_," he gestured to the Slytherins, "Are appalling."

"I don't need you kicking out any of my visitors Ron," Ginny stated. "If I wanted them gone, I would've told them to go, but seeing as they're still here, I'm pretty sure you can tell what I want, so leave it."

It was Madame Pomfrey, however, that broke up the party. "Feel free to visit Ms. Weasley later this evening, but right now she needs more rest. The potion I gave her can only do so much, her body needs to do the rest," the mediwitch stated.

She walked away to check on the other patients in the infirmary, and while they grumbled, the others made promises of coming to see her before dinner.

It was Zabini who once again lagged behind the rest, staying with her for a bit longer.

"You scared me half to death there, Riding Hood," He stated, his eyes catching hers. "You owe me."

She stared at him confused. "Excuse me? I _owe_ you?"

"For the years you took off my life," he stated plainly. "I did my very best to preserve my hide during the war and here you go ruining my perfectly constructed plans. You owe me another dinner, after our first date."

She was left there staring as he gave her a little salute, a smirk upon his lips, before walking away.

.

Harry stared at Hermione and the blond man who had yet to leave her alone while she was with him and Ron.

"So… you mind explaining all the missing details here?" He asked her, his gaze wary as Draco seemed to eye him carefully. "We leave you alone to your own devices for a bit and you're suddenly Hermione plus one."

The brunette smiled, "I think we should have this conversation when we're not in the middle of the hallway where anyone can listen in. It's almost time for lunch so maybe after you can meet Draco and I in our common room?"

"You'll have to show us the way," Harry said slowly, "But we'll be there."

Ron nodded and he moved to place a hand on her shoulder but was intercepted. He winced as someone's grip around his wrist tightened and he lifted his gaze from the pale fingers to meet eyes like thundercloud.

"Bloody hell, ferret," Ron snapped, tugging out his wrist. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Harry glared at Draco, stepping in between him and Ron as Hermione sighed, tugging on Draco's arm.

"What the hell is your issue, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

The blond looked at them both. "I'll tell you this once… You do not touch her."

Hermione bit back the groan threatening to rise up in her throat. What little she knew about Veelas was of their primal, raw, hedonistic passion and unbound emotion. They were also extremely possessive. All of which seemed to be true as she was now getting hands on experience. She just hoped that Harry would know to just leav—

"You don't speak for Hermione, Malfoy." Harry snapped. "We're her friends; we'll be here for her long after whatever game your playing tires you."

"She's not a _game,_ Pothead," Draco snapped, tense at the implication that his feelings were so shallow. "What goes on between me and Hermione is deeper than what you have even dreamt to comprehend."

Ron snorted. "You expect us to believe you've suddenly changed your entire belief system?"

"Big words for one with a brain as small as the rodent he keeps as his familiar," Draco taunted. "Should I toss you some cheese as a reward?"

The brunette witch had had just about enough of this male showdown. "Stop. _Now._ All three of you."

Draco tensed before straightening up and standing to her side.

"You're practically manhandling her," Harry snapped.

Hermione glared. "I said that was enough, Harry James."

"Maybe you should remember the cause that landed the littlest Weasley in the infirmary and then maybe it will all bring some clarity into your thick skulls," Malfoy snarled, his lips curling. "Lord knows those particular attics haven't seen any light in a while."

The petite witch beside him sighed in exasperation. "Draco Malfoy."

The blond in question sighed. "Alright, I promise not to taunt Weasley until he has more than two brain cells to rub together."

Ron spluttered in indignation while Harry stared at Draco with something akin to understanding.

"Gin was here because of a Veela book… that Hermione was carrying with her," Harry whispered.

A smirk fell upon Draco's lips like it normally did, before he turned to look down at Hermione. "Well, it seems Potter has more than two brain cells. Apparently he has _three._ I can at least pick on him, can't I?"

Hermione ignored him, though he saw amusement flare into her eyes, as much as she tried to repress it. "No one really knows, Harry, and the walls in this castle are always listening… We'd rather…keep this quiet."

"But…"

"Go to lunch, Potter, your head looks like it's going to combust, it's working so much harder than it normally does," Draco stated. "She'll explain after lunch."

Harry looked at the two…at the _couple_? The concept was foreign and one he'd never really thought to consider. "Why don't we just sneak into the kitchen, grab some food to go and eat it in your common room."

Hermione looked back to Draco, before nodding her head. "That seems like a more reasonable plan."

So the group of four walked the halls, Hermione the divider between Draco, and Harry and Ron. The walk was silent as one half of the group felt awkward, and Draco… Draco was frustrated.

'_They're such rooster blocks,'_ Draco's voice resounded in her head.

She glanced at him curiously but he just looked straight ahead. _'Rooster? Oh… you mean cock block.'_

He stole a quick glance at her out of the corner of his eyes, his smirk growing wider. _'I know. I just wanted to see if you'd say the word cock.'_

'_How mature,'_ Hermione thought, her cheeks flushing.

Ron and Harry, though oblivious to the conversation being had were not oblivious to the passing looks. They too shared a look themselves.

Rounding the corner, the group nearly made it to the pear when a now familiar Richard absently ran into Draco.

"Oh, I'm so so—" Richard started as Draco pinched the bridge of his nose.

He closed his eyes, the flickering colour almost frightening as his frustration and fraying nerves showed. He hadn't liked this Richard character to begin with. He opened his lids and stared down the man who was nearly as tall as him. "You… I thought we got rid of you."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Don't mind him. I'm afraid he's a bit loopy lately."

The blond sputtered. "Loopy. I am not loopy."

"And sensitive." Hermione added, smiling charmingly.

Draco snorted. "Now you're making me sound like Boy Wonder and the Weasel."

Richard shifted to gaze at the protesting two thirds of the golden trio, before glancing back at Hermione who had now unknowingly been sheltered behind Malfoy's broad shoulder. He lifted his eyes to meet Draco's gaze and found ice instead of thunder.

"I did want to speak to you, but maybe… Maybe alone would be better?" Richard asked Hermione.

The blond sneered. "She won't be alone with _you._"

"Like your influence is better," Ron snorted.

Hermione sighed. "Well, then, if you simply won't leave me alone with a man, Mr. Sixteenth Century Mindset, Richard can come along with us for lunch."

Draco rolled his eyes, muttering. "Of course, what a _brilliant_ solution. What are we, Hermione's band of misfit toys. Shall I buy you an island?"

He was unwilling to have Potty and his Sidekick, as well as the newest string bean who'd been dropped into his life. On any given day he would have normally avoided spending unnecessary amounts of his free time with them but apparently not this day because as much as he hated the tag alongs, he wanted Hermione to be happy and they somehow fell into that particularly important grand scheme. So he bared it. He didn't grin but he bared it.

He'd sooner kiss Umbridge than admit that he was whipped.

Merlin help anyone who said otherwise.

.

When food had been ideally packaged in some paper bag contraption that the house elves had prepared for Mistress Hermie, they had managed to make it to Draco and Hermione's common rooms.

They found Blaise casually flipping through a copy of the Prophet as he lounged on one of the cushy arm chairs.

"Remind me," he told Hermione, "To change the password. I'd rather not get any more unexpected visitors."

"Why are you so angry, he bats for your team," Ron snickered.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Never thought you'd let a Weasel poison the well," he drawled, glancing at his best friend.

"Hermione's idea," he muttered, setting the food down on the coffee table as Hermione leaned over to fix things as everyone else arranged themselves on the seats.

No one dared comment on the domesticity the actions seemingly had.

"So what calls for this little Christmas party?" Blaised asked, helping himself to a sandwich in the pile that Hermione had neatly arranged on a plate.

When it was clear that everyone was comfortable, Hermione leaned back and started. At the end of it all, Ron, looking a little green asked, "So that means you're shackled to Malfoy for the rest of your life?"

"And the many lives after that." Draco stated plainly. "I don't have any problems with that part. My problem is that you, your family and Potty come along with her as a side package. You know in those little muggle infomercials how they always have that little extra promotional side gift that's an added incentive to buy whatever the hell it is they're trying to sell. You know how those things are useful? That's definitely not you."

Blaise jumped in. "Imagine now that Hermione is one of those large pretzels. She's downright delicious but you might get thirsty, but instead of you being a package deal of pretzel and water, you end up being pretzel and hot sauce. Completely unnecessary and kind of irritating."

Hermione sighed. "We're going to work on this whole getting along thing."

"It can be your side project, love," Draco smirked.

Harry and Ron looked positively green. Richard just looked pensive.

"Can't believe we'll have to put up with _you,_" Harry grumbled.

"Feeling is mutual," came the blond's response.

Harry and Ron sighed. "We'd stay 'Mione but we actually have to talk to McGonagall about the Quidditch team."

The two boys said their goodbyes, nodded at Malfoy and Blaise who in turn nodded back and they left. Richard eyed the boy who's cheesecake he knocked over and Malfoy who sat right by Hermione, his arm stretched wide.

"C'mon, cheesecake murderer," Blaise sighed, talking to him. "Let's get out of these two lovebirds' hair."

"But he needed to–"

Richard smiled. "We'll talk later. You've been talking the whole afternoon so I'll disturb you _later_."

And the two left Hermione and Draco, crumbs on the table and glasses scattered. Hermione moved to clean up when Draco's hand stilled her, making her pause and glance back at him in question.

"You know… when Weasley said you'd be shackled to me for life… there is a loophole," Draco murmured. "You could let me die."

The brunette slumped back in her chair, neither of them staring at each other. "I'm not going to let you die. Not if I can help it."

"I'm not a charity case, Hermione. I'm not some cause like Elvish rights. I care about you," he told her, deciding that while it didn't cover half of what he really felt, it would suffice enough to not scare her away. "I won't tie you to me forever if it means you'll spend the rest of eternity miserable."

He stiffened for a moment as she laid her head on his shoulder before relaxing at her touch, even as his senses began to hum and slowly overload.

"I'm not saying that this will be easy…. But I think…. Maybe we can try this, _us,_ in earnest and actually give us a chance," Hermione told him.

He smiled. "Totally knew you'd fall for my charm eventually," he drawled in his sweet honey tone, his arm draping across her shoulders to tug him into his side more.

Hermione just laughed. "Arrogant git."

And that was the start of Hermione and Draco's courtship.

.

**A/N: That's the end of Chapter 13. I loved having dashes of possessive!Draco shine through. Thank you for all your lovely reviews, I'm sorry it takes me so long to update. My summer break is rolling around so I'll probably hunker down to write more chapters. If any of you want to know what's going on with me, or want to know where your questions will be answered, click on my author profile and there's a link to my tumblr. **

**Happy reading.**


	15. Interlude II

**Interlude II**

The week after Ginny had been placed in the infirmary went by without much incident, or at least as little incident as possible with a school so large and a population of students never lacking behind in the latest goings-on of their classmates. However, there was a noticeable cessation of tension between some of the upper-year students that was causing a stir.

So it was on a rather cloudy Friday morning that a group of third year Hufflepuff girls stood in front of their Herbology class stood, books in hand, whispering and giggling to each other about the latest news.

"Wednesday night on my way to the Great Hall for dinner, I passed by this one corridor and I swear I saw Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger holding hands," Hannah Tinley, a rather round blonde told the group. "My sister swears when she was in her first year she saw Granger slap Malfoy. I say that was only to release all of that tension!"

Jenna Briggs, who bore a striking resemblance to Moaning Myrtle, waggled her eyebrows. "Well now that they're all alone together in their Heads rooms, I'm sure they're getting rid of it in other ways."

"It explains why yesterday I saw Ronald Weasley and Malfoy exchanging words and there didn't even seem to be a chance of a duel! I mean, Weasley still looked all irritated while Malfoy looked all smug but no one even reached for their wands!" Kristin Montley stated. "My brother and I were sorely disappointed. And to make matters worse, Blaise was there and I think he heard me sigh all disappointed because he started to laugh and was looking in my direction."

Hannah rolled her eyes, "You should give it up, you're never gonna get a chance to snog him like you want to. I overheard gossip from some Gryffindors that Ginny Weasley's got a date with him."

Kristin blushing bright red, from either anger or embarrassment, huffed. "Well it's more of a shot then you'll get with Harry Potter!"

"He's still single," Hannah shot back.

Jenna shrugged. "You two are impossible. I'd rather have a slice of Ron Weasley or Draco Malfoy any day."

Now it was Kristin and Hannah's turn to snort, "In your dreams."

"Oh, trust me, I've had plenty," Jenna told them.

Hannah looked disgusted while Kristin looked intrigued, but just as the girls were about to continue on with the merits of each male, Neville Longbottom came around the corner of the greenhouse with Ginny Weasley, the latter carrying some odd looking plant, her voice carrying as the duo passed the group.

"Thanks for this Neville," said the bright eyed redhead. "I'm gonna need this for tonight."

"No problem, Gin," Neville's voice growing more distant the further they walked away from the eavesdroppers they failed to notice. "Grew too much of it when I accidentally spilt that growth potion..."

"Well Zabini…" And their voices were too faint for the group to hear the rest.

Hannah looked to Kristin. "I told you. _No_ chance."

.

**A/N: **This was meant to be a start of a chapter but I decided to make it an Interlude instead. I'm working on writing more chapters ahead of time which is why there's been a major time lag of posting... but then I'm sure you're all pretty used to that coming from me. Sorry! I'm doing my best. I'm also gonna be taking down the Q&A from the other chapters since Q&A answers are now on my blog!

Enjoy!


	16. Interlude III

**A/N: **To clear the air, when I posted that last author's note about plagiarism, I didn't mean it to sound like I was quitting this story or was going to stop writing. I understand that as a writer, and a writer of fanfiction, things like this happen – disappointing though it may be; it's what happens when a writer releases their work. I just meant that I was hesitant to post until this whole matter was put to rest.

PS. The person's story is finished; the issue is maybe them reworking their story so it is not so uncannily similar.

Lucky for all of you though, I decided to post this notice up with the newest interlude.

Happy reading.

Ally

.

**Interlude III: First Date Blunders**

.

Ginny could only describe this first date as a disaster.

Not on Blaise's part.

Oh _no_.

The snake was a smooth-talking charmer with endless amounts of enigmatic charisma.

Compared to him, however, she seemed to be a hippogriff in a porcelain room with Neville's penchant for falling over at the most inopportune of times. She also seemed to be channelling second year Harry, with all of his _luck_ due to Dobby.

It had all started well before Blaise had come by the Tower to grab her.

When she had gone to see Neville near one of the greenhouses, as they were heading up the hill, her foot had gotten caught on one of the roots sending her crashing into the leftover dragon's dung that had been used for a particularly nasty Potions assignment for the sixth years.

The more she had struggled to get out of that particular pleasantry, the more her fingers managed to sink in.

While she was normally not particularly squeamish, the stench wafting around her alone was enough to make her stomach queasy.

It took every ounce of control for her not to retch, and Neville, kind man that he was, reached out for her.

"_No thank you, Neville," Ginny cried out. "I don't want you to get dirty either."_

_Neville nodded, his face turning blue as he held in his breath for as long as he could._

_Trying to stand with the weighty substance covering her was really not an option so Ginny, loathe though she was, crawled her way out of the small pit._

_Ginny looked to Neville when she was finally on more level terrain, approximately three quarters of her body soaked through. "Why don't you go ahead? I'm going to take a shower. Can you please send Hermione to grab me some fresh clothes?"_

_The blue-faced young man dashed off with a nod, and she heard his deep inhales some distance past her._

_It was only after her third shower in the prefects bath that she managed to get all of the dirt and grime off of her body though the odour still lingered._

_The moment that Hermione stepped in, the redhead cried out in frustration, "I smell like Ron!"_

_Her nose wrinkled, the older witch eyed her with dismay. "I'm sorry, Gin. Neville told me what happened. Dragon's dung from that particular dragon breed needs a certain potion to fully remove the scent. They had none in stock because of the potions brewing. Professor Snape is brewing some now, but it won't be ready until well after you get back from your evening with Blaise."_

Thankfully he took it all in stride, smirking at her, "Don't worry, Red. I always knew you were dirty."

Which lead to her being here, right now, sitting at the base of the qudditch pitch, a blanket tossed to the side covered in gravy and bits of potato.

"I think most of it is out of your hair," Blaise told her seriously, removing his hands from her hair.

She made a face, "If this evening was to be graded, the highest mark it could hope for is a Troll."

He smiled at her. "I don't know, I've had a good time. Thankfully my nose is horrendously clogged and I'm not a particular fan of Hogwarts mashed potatoes and gravy."

"I don't think I am either," she muttered darkly. "Hopefully you won't get a black eye."

"How were you supposed to know that I was right behind you, right when you were stretching your arm?" He chuckled. "Admit it Red. Apart from your first date blunders, you've had a good time."

The youngest Weasley stared at him. Today she had landed in dragon's dung, went on her first date smelling like her brother, and elbowed her date in the face. But she had also laughed so hard she'd managed to flip his plate of mashed potatoes in her hair while he told a story of his childhood, and whatever childhood fancy she may have had on him – if Hermione Granger said anything about that to anyone she was lying – took flight on this very evening.

"It was a rather good date," she admitted, enjoying the way his eyes seemed to twinkle.

He smirked. "Of course it was, you were with me." Before she could retort however, he cut her off and waved a platter in front of her face. "To celebrate you not cancelling on me because you probably smell like your brother and that has to be uncomfortable, I brought cheesecake for us to share."

"Where'd you manage to put this?" The Gryffindor girl asked.

"I got it with everything else I brought for tonight. By charming the house elves. Of course, this I kept it in a safe place, just in case. If you ruined the cheesecake, I'd have to dislike you out of principle and we couldn't have that," Blaise told her, chuckling.

'_No, they really couldn't have that,_' Ginny thought, smiling again as she grabbed a fork and they both dug into the cheesecake.

.

**A/N: **And there you go. Blaise and Ginny's first date. Hoorah.


	17. XIVa

**A/N: **Sorry it's taken so long to update!**  
**

**.  
**

**Chapter 14a: Flee**

To say that Hermione Granger was peeved was to put it lightly. The past week had been a hellish nightmare and it left her feeling far more irritable than normal.

This was definitely not the right way to start her morning.

She was absolutely famished and neither Ron nor Harry thought it sensible to appear when they had _planned_ to meet at the bottom of the staircase leading to Gryffindor tower.

'_I specifically told them 7:30,'_ Hermione thought disgruntled.

There would be no avoiding Ginny if they didn't arrive soon.

And while both she and the youngest Weasley were still very much on good terms, the tentative beginnings of a relationship budding between her and Blaise Zabini meant she would most likely be meeting said Slytherin on this day's trip to Hogsmeade.

Considering the recent circumstances, awkward small talk with long pauses would consume any conversation she could possibly attempt to have with the boy, and she'd rather not put either of them through that.

All she could recall was one of Slughorn's parties, cringing at every vivid detail that popped up into her mind.

"Oh," she heard from behind her, and she closed her eyes at the voice. "Hermione."

Breathing in deeply, she opened her eyes and turned around, putting a tentative smile on her face. "Blaise… Good morning."

"Morning," he murmured, his shoulders tense.

The brunette witch couldn't prevent herself from peering behind him. "You're alone…"

"He went home earlier in the week."

"Oh," was all she could think to say.

It wasn't as if she was clueless as to which him she was referring to. He and Draco had grown up together. They were best mates. Which is why she also didn't take too much offense with the cold-shoulder treatment Blaise was giving her.

She refused to think of the blond any more than necessary (no she wasn't being too stubborn, thank you very much) and was relieved to hear Ron's voice calling out to her.

"I should probably go to meet Ginny," he said, pausing before he went up the stairs to murmur soft enough so only she could hear, "I think you both need to stop being stubborn and avoiding each other. It's not going to fix anything."

.

After a light breakfast, the Golden Trio promised to meet outside Honeydukes the moment Hermione finished her duties as Head Girl and Harry as Prefect.

The young witch parted from Harry when he found his co-Gryffindor Prefect and headed to meet a flustered Professor McGonagall who immediately greeted her with a relieved cry of, "Ms. Granger!"

"Hello, Professor," Hermione smiled. "It seems much more frantic today than normal."

The older woman grimaced. "You're going to be working double today, Ms. Granger, as Mr. Malfoy isn't here. He chose to recover at home for the next week or so, as I'm sure you are aware. His patrol duties are being passed down and shared between the seventh year Slytherin Prefects but since they were already assigned to help with today as well, it can't be helped."

Hermione just nodded and accepted the pieces of parchment from the Professor, phrases like _'recover' _and '_as I'm sure you are aware'_ tossing in her head.

_No_, she had _not_ been aware.

It was incredibly unsettling and completely her fault.

The brunette forced a strained smile on her face, "It won't be any problem Professor."

.

Supervising would have probably been less stressful had she been able to focus on the task at hand. Luckily the only Prefects she had to guide and really help with were mainly the fifth year students who had just started their Prefect duties that year. The number of students they had to process quickly could be quite overwhelming, especially as it was the first Hogsmeade trip of the school term.

She waved goodbye in passing to Richard who was in the crowd of gathered seventh year Slytherins. He'd seemed to be adjusting better now that his housemates didn't seem to think of him too much as an outsider.

A young blond girl, Astoria Greengrass, seemed to be tugging at the braided ends of his hat, the mid-October breeze crisp in the air.

The Gryffindors were the last group she'd had to check so by the time she'd gotten there, everyone seemed to be ready to leave.

She stood beside Harry and asked, "No one gave you any trouble, did they, Harry?"

"A couple of third years tried to avoid their attention and sneak into the line with their mates," he shrugged, a half-grin on his face. "They seemed peeved, but then they saw who it was so I even managed to get an apology from them while bringing them to Professor McGonagall."

The Gryffindors, at Professor McGonagall's decree, were finally allowed to leave.

Hermione fell into step beside Harry, not quite registering that he was trying to gain her attention until his hand collided with the side of her face as he pushed her away.

"Harry James Potter," she cried out indignantly. "That was completely unnecessary."

The young wizard made a face and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Full naming me? I'm pretty sure I was the one who prevented you from getting your foot caught between broken cobblestone and twisting it."

"Oh," Hermione mumbled for the second time that day, deflating a little. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"See, now if you could only say the same words to Malfoy, I'm sure you wouldn't be as distracted." He chided softly.

Unlike Ron who continued to grimace at the thought of Malfoy and Hermione's relationship, Harry had been a lot more understanding.

"I feel like such a naïve fool, Harry," she admitted, slowing her pace to allow them some privacy. "If I hadn't been so _stupid_ than maybe I'd know what was going on with him."

"Hermione Granger is very rarely stupid, so I'd like to hear what happened."

Her hand gently rubbing against a red mark underneath her jumper, she started from the evening of last Sunday.

.

_It had been annoying at first, but now she just couldn't take it._

"_You threatened him," Hermione accused, her voice equal parts frustration and anger. "You can't just _threaten_ whomever because you're being insecure."_

_Draco bit back the retort on his lips until the portrait door closes but his eyes are still dark and smouldering. "It's _not _insecurity, Hermione, it's _instinct. _Fighting how I feel is like fighting myself."_

"_That doesn't make terrifying him any more correct!"_

"_Forgive me if his flirting with you irritates me," he shouted angrily. "I can't help it. It's always this way around you!"_

"_Always _doesn't_ start when your veela blood starts calling," she muttered._

_He dropped his books down on the coffee table, the sound grating on her ears and quickening her pulse._

_The Veela in him heard it, felt it coursing through him almost as if it were his own blood. He told her none of this. She wouldn't believe him even if he said so._

"_Listen here, _Granger,_" he sneers, making her flinch at the tone of his voice. One side of him aches, knowing he's going to hurt her. The more human half, the one who's already hurting, wants to lash out. "You seem to think that my being a Veela has altered me completely. It's as if the person I am now isn't the person you knew. Contrary to what you seem to believe, I'm _stillhuman_. Some things may be changing within me because I'm a Veela but that doesn't mean I've suddenly been reprogrammed."_

"_You can't have me believing that after everything, all of a sudden, out of the blue we're supposed to be some perfect match, Draco," she snaps. "Life doesn't work that way."_

"_And it didn't work that way, Granger," he cries out. "You want to know the truth? _Third year. _That's how long I've felt something more for you. _Third year._ The first time it hit me, I fought with myself because you represented everything I wasn't supposed to want. By fifth year I was angry that you made me feel torn for being my father's son, when all I ever knew was that upholding the Malfoy heritage was the greatest thing I could aspire to. And when I was brought to see the torturing of those helpless people, all I could think of was _you _and how I wished this world was better for _you_, how I hoped you were safe."_

_Her throat closes and she looks away._

"_I know this is scary. It's a big change in your life. But it's not any easier for me." When he noticed her fingers toying with the mark on her neck, his voice softened to a near pleading tone, "Trust how you feel, Hermione. Trust me when I say that this is real, that we can make this work. Don't treat our blessing as if it's a curse. Put some faith in how I feel, how _you_ feel."_

"_You feel too much," she whispered._

"_You want logic and planning where there is none. All I can tell you is that I want to be with you, and I can promise that I'll still want to be with you 100 years from now." The look in his eyes would haunt her tonight. "You allowed me to mark you. I wouldn't have been able to do that if it hadn't meant something to you."_

_It was all too much too fast._

_Everything had just progressed so quickly she could barely hold on._

_And when he saw her pulling away, the lines in his face hardened, as he forced his heart back. "I won't be your secret, Hermione. You let me hold your hand when no one is around, but you pull away the moment you see someone in the distance. I spend all my spare time with you, and meet with you after classes but I'm not even sure if you'll let me call you my girlfriend. If someone is flirting with me, you get uncomfortable and you treat me like a pariah but my getting angry with someone for flirting with you is suddenly wrong. The mark on your neck is supposed to remind us that we mean something to one another but you're shutting me out again. You're confusing me Hermione. I want to know what you want from me."_

_She shuts her eyes, not willing to see his reaction as she mutters, "I'm not sure what I want. The year started and suddenly I go from being very single to being… I don't even know what I am. You're the same man I knew before, and yet you're so obviously not. If I've shifted your world's axis completely, you've done the same to mine. It's just been a little over a month. You can't ask me to be sure, because I don't know."_

"_You said you'd give us a chance, but I don't know if I ever really had one with you." Draco makes himself turn away from her. He may want her (Merlin, how he wants her) but he doesn't want her unwilling. They both deserve more than that, and he'd rather die of loneliness than being her greatest regret. "I'll just grab some of my things and stay in the Slytherin dorms. Let me know when you've figured it out."_

_Hermione doesn't say anything as he picks up the textbooks he slammed down on the table and walked towards his door, pausing before telling her, "I'm as much a Veela as I am a man, Hermione."_

_When his portrait door shuts, she dashes to her room._

_._

And now he wasn't anywhere close to where she was.

"I agree," Harry suddenly stated, startling her from further thoughts of the Malfoy heir.

She eyes him speculatively. "You agree with what?"

"I agree that you were being stupid," the boy-who-conquered tells her, walking backwards to grin at her.

Frustrated, though completely concurring with him, she shoves him with her hands playfully.

Obviously, she manages to shove him into a tree.

He has a crack in his glasses and a swollen nose when he managed to pull away in shock.

"You know, apparently he's not the only one getting in touch with his inner beast," the dark-haired young man muttered darkly, plopping himself down at the base of the tree trunk while he rubbed his nose.

She sits down beside him, and held out her hand as he passed his glasses to her.

When she's bringing her wand to perform a minor healing charm, he stares her in the eyes and tells her plainly, "Look Hermione, I've had my life altered because of one person, granted, it hasn't been in quite a _loving_ manner," he smiles, "But you can either accept it, or reject it – either way, you still have to see how it plays out. One of those decisions may make you happier than you want to admit, and while I'm not Malfoy's biggest fan – don't know if I'll ever be that – I think he may be good for you. Even I know he'll treat you right, being your mate and all."

"I know he'll treat me right," she admitted. "And we get along better than even I thought. He's very well read, and he tells the most fascinating stories – his family travelled a lot during the summers, even if it was only his mother that he really spent time with on those trips."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"Isn't it too soon? What if I can't return his feelings? What if I can't love him like he needs, Harry?" Hermione questioned. "And what if I can't put up with his possessiveness?"

"I'd say you already care about him if you're so concerned with loving him," he pointed out. "The possessiveness is part of who he is, Hermione, like the swottiness is part of you. It shouldn't be a deal breaker. He's not stopping you from being with your friends, or your family, Hermione, you're not his prisoner. But being a veela means he gets jealous of male 'competition' because they may take you away from him – it's an internal thing – like a switch. Normally Malfoy wouldn't want to admit that anyone's _better_ than him, but his nature makes him vulnerable which makes his anger trigger-happy."

She stared at him as if she couldn't believe all this insight coming from him.

He rolled his eyes. "The git looked like he was going to eat Richard a week ago when he thought he was flirting with you. I read up on some things, asked Hagrid to fill in the blanks."

"Oh Harry! You did research!" She looked positively delighted.

"Of course you'd be happy about that," the young wizard chuckled. "I did it to save myself from a swollen nose. Apparently you beat him to the punch, _literally._"

"I _didn't_ punch you, Harry James," she said in all seriousness, before laughing a little. "I think I'll tell Draco that you were scared of him."

"I'll put up with the ribbing if you talk to him," he told her. "I can't put up with another Hermione pity-party study session… mainly because I have to attend those too."

When the laughter had subsided, the pair stood up.

"Listen Harry, will you tell Ron that I won't be able to make it to lunch, today?" she asked. "I'm going to try and owl, Draco, if he doesn't burn the blasted parchment before he even reads it."

"He'd burn it if it were coming from me, Hermione, but he's probably more anxious for your letter than Blaise is for a slice of cheesecake."

"He does love his cheesecake, doesn't he?"

"Nearly stabbed my hand when I reached to over and he thought I was trying to have some," Harry frowned. "Wasn't even reaching for it, I wanted pumpkin pie. If I thought he'd be gullible enough to believe it, I'd say he was banned from the Gryffindor tables."

"You're more afraid of Ginny taking your head off with a bludger," Hermione laughed.

"Wouldn't put it past her," the bespectacled wizard stated. "Fred and George gave her pointers with aim."

.

On her way up to the castle, Hermione cringed when she heard Professor McGonagall frantically calling for her.

She paused and turned, preparing to tell Professor McGonagall that she had already properly delegated her duties for the evening, when the older witch called again.

"Ms. Granger, you must come with me at once!"

Her panic made Hermione feel uneasy. "Is there something the matter, Professor?"

"Mrs. Malfoy floo'ed me in hopes that I could find you right away; as it was, she couldn't leave Malfoy Manor with the situation at hand."

"_Situation?"_ Hermione questioned, dread building within her. "What kind of situation, Professor?"

"It's Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger. Since he's been home, his mother has said that his health has rapidly deteriorated," the woman whispered. "He's dying."

.

**A/N: And that is the end of part one of Chapter 14. I certainly hoped you all enjoyed that chapter. Even if involved more injury.**

**Happy reading!  
**


	18. XIVb

**A/N: **Alright, I'm back. I'm glad you're all sitting at the edge of your seats in anticipation! Just what I wanted.

Thank you all for the lovely and encouraging reviews to hurry up and post the next chapter! As such, here it is.

PS. All questions about chapters are answered on my website since I'd rather not extend this longer than it has to be.

_Happy Reading!_

_._

**Chapter 14b: Laying Here**

_._

_4 days prior to the scheduled Hogsmeade trip…_

His life was turned upside down, all in a relatively short amount of town. Things had become completely different and uncertain.

Draco had refused to say anything to the healer who watched him carefully, and instead chose to lay there and ponder his life in general.

He was Draco Malfoy, born and raised in Wiltshire, England to Pureblood parents (and all the emotional and mental baggage that would soon attach itself to him from then on because of that fact). Hogwarts had been his haven, providing him an escape from his father that he had surely needed. There he could relax (until his Veela blood had awoken) and on one particular day (after a rather spectacular row he had with a certain know-it-all) he was with Blaise.

The first wave of pain had hit him between the eyes mid-way into Blaise's newly conceived quidditch manoeuvre that the Slytherin team could do. And it was approximately five minutes after that when his body had decided it had had enough, and he had promptly blacked out.

His Veela senses seemed to be revolting and his mother, who had been made known of the situation, became quite concerned with the progression of the changes within his blood.

She had promptly determined he should come home and be seen by a…_specialist…_ of sorts.

He had agreed for the simple fact that he'd rather be anywhere but Hogwarts.

.

_3 days prior to the scheduled Hogsmeade trip…_

By day two of being home, in the early morning hours when a normal person was _supposed_ to be sleeping, he'd determined that Hermione Granger wasn't as intelligent as everyone proclaimed her to be. In fact, he thought her rather obtuse, and completely stubborn.

He understood that she was frightened, but so was he. They were both going into this blindly, and though he wouldn't want to admit it, for all of his bravado, he may have been more frightened than she was.

The healer had determined that his blood was awakening faster because of the current turmoil happening between him and his mate. His blood was accelerating, the slow metamorphosis reaching a fever pitch that quickly became a frantic frenzy.

The veela inside him was frightened that he would lose her.

The human in him didn't care what the veela wanted.

When they took _one_ step together, she decided to take 3 steps back, a boatride to reach the train station, a train to Kings Cross, from Kings Cross apparate to the Ministry, in which she'd take the closest international portkey to anywhere that wasn'twith him.

He knew what he wanted, and now it was her turn to tell him.

He refused to be in a relationship built on a foundation of uncertainty.

Though he'd felt the internal tug pulling him towards her almost instantaneously since they'd been separated, he refused to answer her call.

Of course he was miserable, and apparently so was his blood, but if she could be stubborn than so could he.

.

_2 days before the scheduled Hogsmeade trip…_

It was day 3, and he felt like hell.

He was completely exhausted, as if he couldn't lift himself from his bed, and he couldn't manage to hold down anything more than a few spoonfuls of soup and a bite or so of a cracker.

"Look at how pathetic you've made me, Granger," he muttered darkly, thinking of toffee curls and dazzling eyes, and the blond wizard only cursed himself more for giving her more thought than he should.

For all his muttering however, Draco missed her, he'd admit it, and he just wished that she'd come to her senses soon because he was half-a-day away from going back to Hogwarts and just begging her. Begging her to take him back, accepting any half-relationship she'd be willing to give him.

Maybe it was his veela blood, but he'd reluctantly confessed to himself that he was just another fool in love.

The first few days knowing they were both hurting, he'd managed to sleep two to three hours at most, but since he'd been home, he'd gotten barely more than a half hour.

There were some hours within the day where he was racked with the most excruciating pain that felt like he was being administered a Cruciatus while his blood bubbled and burned through his aching veins. It was numbing as explosions of colour would erupt from behind his eyes, blinding him, and the thuds of his heartbeat boomed within his ears until he could think of nothing but the pain.

The healer would tell him with a grimace that it was the rapid change of blood affecting him, but that it wouldn't be much longer before he was completely turned.

"You're quite lucky that you are only partially Veela," the man had said, "Or else there would be wings sprouting to tear apart your back."

The man was lucky he didn't have enough energy to even make a rude gesture.

However great the pain, the separation seemed to be at the forefront of his mind at all times.

Ares had been left behind at Hogwarts, and more than once he knew he'd watched for the tell-tale sound of wings.

The disappointment he'd felt when the letters he'd received were only from Blaise was telling.

"Come in, mother," he stated hoarsely, trying to sit up and finding his body painfully sore, as he heard his mother's soft footfalls in the hall.

The blond witch peered into the room, her face stern though her eyes were concerned as they roamed his face. "Draco Malfoy, you've been ordered to keep to your bed until your body is used to the changes," she whispered in the dark, closing the door to block the light streaming in.

"I'm over here, mother," he stated quietly, watching her from where he was.

She sat on his bed and brushed his hair back. "I can barely see you."

"I think my eyes are nearly fully adjusted," he told her. "But you're going to need to continue whispering because the door closing still seems unnaturally loud."

The frown she gave him was not hidden, regardless of the pitch black surroundings. "Your blood is turning much too quickly, darling," his mother whispered. "And the key is your Ms. Granger."

"At least someone _other_ than myself is willing to acknowledge the fact," the young wizard mumbled. "She is much too stubborn."

His mother reached her hand out and caressed his cheek gently. "She is not the only stubborn one. Will you not owl her in the very least?"

"I've explained myself, and it is her turn to tell _me_ where _she_ wants to go from here. I know what I want, mother, but I refuse to carry-on feeling as if whatever between us is one-sided." Draco murmured heatedly.

"I would want nothing more for you than your complete happiness," Narcissa told him. "I'm proud of you – for understanding what you want, for not settling for less than you deserve. I agree with your principals, but I do hate seeing you in such pain, and moreover, such complete misery."

He covered her hand on his cheeks with his much larger one. "Thank you, mother."

.

_1 day before the scheduled Hogsmeade trip…_

Late the very next evening after dinner, Narcissa walked with the Healer once more to her son's room.

"He's been very tired lately," the blond woman explained. "I know he can barely sleep and with all the added distress to his body…"

The Healer nodded. "His strength will carry him through, and I assure you that the hardest part of the blood changing has been dealt with. The cause of the violent episodes within the change is the complete change of his senses. What he needs now is to recuperate. His body is now in a delicate state of imbalance where the changes to his senses have caused them to become much too sensitive. The more docile of the Veela blood has yet to run through his system enough to render him balance and completely finished with his Awakening."

"He's been so uncharacteristically subdued," The witch admitted, clasping her hands firmly together as they neared his room. "I suspect it has little to do with the changes…"

"Indeed you are correct," he told her before pausing, as if feeling something strange in the air. "We must hurry at once to your son's room."

Narcissa watched with a sinking feeling as the half-Veela Healer moved at an alarming rate to reach nearly the end of the hall where her son's room was located.

As she ran as quick as she could in her robes, she could only cry out in horror as she watched her son, eyes closed, convulse upon his bed.

"Draco!" She screamed, tears beginning to sting her eyes, as the Healer did all he could to try and settle her son's quaking form.

She reached for his hand, holding it between her own two, blue eyes absorbing every tremor and violent shake that racked him. Knowing there was nothing she could do for him but to allow the Healer to do his job made her heart clench painfully.

It was some hours later after he had settled and Healer Grey murmured the last of his charms, tests, and spells that Narcissa turned to face the grim looking wizard. "What is it? What has happened to my son?"

"I will not lie to you, Mrs. Malfoy. Your son's veela blood is protesting against the prolonged absence of any connection with his mate. This type of reaction typically happens when a veela has bestowed his mark upon his intended, and then the two have gone through prolonged time of no contact whatsoever." The wizard took a deep breath. "Your son has probably resisted answering her subconscious calls, so his blood has escalated it's choice of action into bringing his young lady to him. While they are not linked to the extent a completely bonded couple has, the primal need to be close to one another is one all couples share – one that your son has tried to repress. His convulsions were severe, and he has slipped into a coma."

"Coma," Narcissa whispered on a sob.

"He is dying, Narcissa, steadily his health is declining," the man grimly murmured. "If you can bring her here, given enough time and her proximity, his blood will slowly reverse what it has started. While it is no guarantee to wake him from coma, it will stop his blood from revolting."

.

_Day of the Hogsmeade Trip_

Narcissa was met with a near hysteric Hermione as she exited the designated fireplace for floo entry.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Malfoy," the woman rushed, "Where is he?"

She put her hand to the back of her mouth, closing her eyes to gather her compsure. "I will show you to him at once, Ms. Granger, but before I do, I…" The elder witch gazed upon Hermione's face, "I humbly beg you to save him. Save my son, please. He is all that I hold dear and I cannot fanthom–"

"You do not need to beg me, Mrs. Malfoy, for I have no intention of being parted with him, and most definitely not like this," Hermione assured her.

They held gazes, coming to an understanding of sorts, before Narcissa escorted Hermione to her son's room.

There Hermione chose to sat in the chair Narcissa herself had chosen to keep vigil over her son right by his bed. She watched as the young woman's agonized gaze roamed her son's countenance, grasping what Narcissa knew would be a near cool hand within her own.

Hermione raised his hands to her lips placing a soft kiss on the back of it before bowing her head and sobbing.

"Draco," the young witch cried softly, "I am sorry I've been so stubborn, but I am here now. I am here now. I won't leave, I am here now. Please don't…please come back, I am here now."

.

**A/N: **Poor Hermione.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Until next time.


	19. XV

**A/N:** Thank you all for your lovely reviews! It always makes my day to see them! I'm sorry if some of you were unsatisfied but I write what pleases me, and if you enjoy it, that's wonderful, if not, like I said, I'm sorry. I can't please everyone, I just hope you enjoy what I offer.

This chapter is much more fluffy. I'm trying to stretch this out because… well… HP is over and that makes me sad.

PS. All questions, if you have any, should be sent to my blog.

Anywho, happy reading.

.

**Chapter 15: Breakthrough**

.

Hermione hadn't known what to expect when she first arrived at Malfoy Manor but the silence that greeted her was foreign and unsettling.

She sat with Draco for what felt like hours, holding his hand, watching him and his steady breathing. While she was aware that Mrs. Malfoy was somewhere standing behind her, she could barely maintain her composure. The young witch briefly worried that she may have come off as a little ill-mannered, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

His hands were ice-cold to the touch when she had first held him and it had made her heart lurch painfully in her chest. The lack of response was so unlike him.

"What's happened to you?" She whispered, squeezing his hand hoping to feel his firm grip. To her complete horror, she felt tears, and she quickly wiped them away with the backs of her fingers.

Narcissa watched the young woman carefully before moving around the bed to smooth her son's bangs from his forehead. "Healer Grey anticipates his blood will settle thanks to you presence," she informed the young woman, her eyes lingering on Draco's still face.

"When will he wake?" Hermione questioned softly.

The inhale of breath Narcissa unsettled her.

"Mrs. Malfoy?" She asked again.

"The Healer isn't certain when he'll wake," The blonde witch revealed. "He had a violent physical reaction to his blood which caused him to slip into coma."

Closing her eyes against the stinging sensation, Hermione tried to take deep breaths.

_Coma,_ she thought. Magic could fix many things but, like everything, there was a limit to its capabilities. Not even magic could wake Draco, and she despaired at the thought. Comas could be as short as a few hours, or as long as several years.

Her heart ached at the thought of never being able to see his eyes light up with teasing mischief, or the quirk of his eyebrows when he was amused. The stillness of his lips spoke nothing of the young man with a smug smirk, or a laugh that could fill a room; it didn't open to let her hear his honey-like drawl or form the pulse-quickening smile that was so rarely seen already.

And suddenly she was angry. She was angry at everything that happened, and everyone involved. She was angry at herself for pushing him away and not reconciling with him sooner, she was angry at herself for thinking that she was the only one worried about what was happening. She was angry at their stubbornness, and for letting it get this far.

She was angry at his Veela blood, because it had caused this, because it had brought them together, and now she had to feel the very real pain clawing at her with the fear of losing him well before he even knew how sorry she was, or how she really felt about him.

She was angry because he couldn't _be_ angry. He was still and quiet, and so unlike Draco Malfoy. She was angry because he was probably more scared than she was, and she had pushed him away to leave him hurting and unsure of her.

Merlin, she was so very sorry.

Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, clutching his hand, murmuring her apologies, uncaring of anyone else in the room.

It was only when she felt a soft hand upon her shoulder that Hermione managed to lessen the quaking of her body.

"I can see that you care for my son a great deal, Ms. Granger," Narcissa murmured, "And if he were awake I'm sure he would want you to know that he doesn't blame you. Deep down, I'm sure he knows you care a great deal for him, he most likely just wanted to hear the words. He respects your opinion very much."

Hermione could only hope that was true.

"He told me about your last encounter in a letter he sent home," the woman continued, "And while he tried not to show it, I knew he was miserable… He proved as much when he came home. I worried for a while about your affection for him, but Blaise told me you seemed equally as miserable so it gave me hope, and seeing you here confirms it."

They stayed like that for a while until Narcissa spoke again.

"I'm sorry Ms. Granger, you must be very hungry," Narcissa murmured, thinking of the time. "And with all the energy you've expended on your long trip here as well as all this emotional stress, I do say you are in definite need of a good meal."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," she murmured, finding her manners at last, "But, and I don't mean to impose, may I please eat here?"

"Yes, of course we'll eat here. I do think it will help me feel more comfortable as well. And Narcissa will do for now, my dear," the woman told her gently. "Will you allow me to take liberties with your name? All this formality is rather stifling between us, especially since I know our paths will cross many times over in many years to come."

"Of course you may, Mrs. – Narcissa," Hermione corrected herself, watching as Narcissa called for a late lunch, summoning a lovely house elf with the largest bespectacled eyes she had ever seen.

Narcissa murmured something softly to the elf and they turned their gazes towards her, Narcissa gesturing to her with a graceful wave as the elf shyly approached.

"Mistress says yous were sads over Master Draco," the elf told her, "So Lola thinks yous may needs this…"

Hermione accepted the napkin with a teary smiley, wiping her cheeks and the corners of her eyes. "Thank you very much, Lola."

"Lola goes now to makes lunch for the Mistress Cissa and Missy Mione," the elf bowed before disappearing.

When trays of food came back, lunch was a rather subdued affair with easy conversation between both Narcissa and Hermione. The Head Girl found her to be an incredibly witty and charming woman who loved her son a great deal, if all of the fond stories of a young Draco she told were to be any clue.

.

She had been there for a week, and while she was pleased to say that Narcissa and she got along far better than she had imagined, the longer she stayed meant the longer Draco hadn't woken.

After the first day, Hermione had met Healer Grey who she learned from Narcissa was a half-Veela himself, living in a neighbouring upper class wizarding village with his mate and 3 children. The man was a trusted member on the Healers Board of Directors at St. Mungo's and his family, for as long as anyone could remember, had been the physician for the Malfoys.

He had come and performed a few tests which indicated that Draco's blood had settled as he knew it would in his mate's presence but it was now up to him and his body to rouse itself from his coma. He suggested that a familiar and welcomed presence reaching out to him would go a long way into helping the young wizard recover.

"This is a trying time for the both of you, I'm certain, and I'm sure you're scared of all of the changes happening," he had murmured in a soothing voice, "But as his mate, he will need you most. Having you here is the surest way for him to pull through."

Hermione had already planned on staying with Draco while he recovered_._ She would not leave him. It was no trouble to talk to him, or to tell him things he might find amusing. She enjoyed teasing him with the stories of his youth and all of his mischief. It just hurt to get no response in return.

Hermione still had to work on assignments which were brought to the Manor Daily via floo by a concerned Professor Snape. The very first time he had visited, he had also brought along a shrunken trunk he had told her were filled with her clothes that Ginny had packed for her.

As she worked on her assignments, Narcissa and the Professor would watch over Draco before the Professor had to return to Hogwarts again.

Hermione suspected that Professor Snape was more concerned than he let on because the delivery of her assignments did not require him to journey all the way to the Manor. She herself submitted her completed assignments via floo transfer.

Once, she and Narcissa had quickly jumped in surprise when Hermione had moved to leave her spot in the chair beside his bed to deliver her work and Draco's hand had grasped hers quickly.

Healer Grey had to inform them gently that the response his body made was not a conscious one, but an involuntary movement that patients in coma exhibit.

It was disheartening, but Hermione and Narcissa continued to talk to him every day.

.

There were many sleepless nights and false alarms that followed since but getting any sort of movement from Draco kept Hermione and Narcissa optimistic.

While Hermione finished her assignments at Draco's desk, Narcissa would sit with him. They made sure that he wouldn't be left alone. More often than not, Narcissa would find Hermione in Draco's room, holding his and speaking quietly to him in the middle of the night.

Though Hermione had a room available to her, adjoining hers and Draco's room, she couldn't remember a night she was there.

One morning when she had woken, her head upon her hand and her back aching rom the chair she had fallen asleep on as she kept vigil, she found a comfortable looking chaise placed parallel to Draco's bed.

When Narcissa swept into the room with a smile on her face and acted as if nothing had changed within the room, Hermione decided not to press her, and only murmur a quiet thanks, returned only with a smile.

.

Nearing the third week of his coma, after Narcissa had told her she needed to run a few errands that required her to leave the Manor for a short time, Hermione sat alone with him.

Hermione laughed softly. "Ginny says she ended up swallowing half of the slug before she realized what had crawled in her sandwich."

She watched Draco for a while after she finished telling him the latest story of yet another disastrous date between Blaise and Ginny, looking for a sign of…_anything_ really.

Finally she snapped.

"Listen here, Draco Lucius Malfoy, I've had just about enough of this. You can't expect to lay in bed all day, can you? Your mother and I… we just… come back, Draco, _please_? You deserve more than this…" Hermione pleaded on a whisper. "We miss you. And I know I've said it before, many times over, but I'm willing to say it again, as many times over that I was _wrong_, if only you'd open your eyes. I… what I feel for you is all me, and not something caused by magic… And I refuse to say it, with your eyes closed because this is a rather monumental announcement I've only just realized myself a few days ago. You'd be stupid if you think I don't care for you…"

She grasped his hand and tried to bargain with him. "I'm all for house loyalty, but I'll cheer you on in the stands even if Slytherin is playing against Gryffindor. I'll even wear your house colours."

Seeing no reaction whatsoever, she made one last effort in a speech that was probably going nowhere. "Look, Draco Malfoy, you've spent nearly two weeks in bed! I know enough about your childhood escapades to blackmail and embarrass you for a lifetime! Maybe beyond that! And that pile of homework you have isn't going to go anywhere, it's only going to increase. Do you really want to be doing that much work at the end of the ye-"

"Water," a raspy voice choked out, and she stilled in shock before jumping to run to the pitcher of water on the coffee table with extra glasses, hurrying to pour one and placing a straw in it for him to use.

Hermione carefully helped him to sit up as he sipped greedily until the tall full glass was gone. "More?" She asked gently as he shook his head.

His eyes met hers and the tell-tale smirk that she was longing for turned up the corner of his lips. "Obviously _you_ would rant about my homework lacking completion while I was in a _coma_."

She blushed brightly, Gryffindor-Red painting her cheeks. "Obviously that would be all you get from that speech."

And while the teasing was embarrassing, she was just so happy that he was awake to even care.

A note was sent to Narcissa who upon receiving it, immediately disapparated mid-conversation, arriving home dishevelled and with pleased tears running down her cheeks as she watched her son animatedly talking to a blushing Hermione Granger.

.

Healer Grey leaned back after performing the tests and nodded his head pleased with the results. "You seem to be in fine health, Mr. Malfoy. And that long amount of time you rested allowed your body to become accustomed to the changes in your Veela blood."

Draco nodded with a frown, "What I really want is to get up off of this bed."

The Healer chuckled. "I suppose you do but I suggest you gather your strength first. You can walk short distances, it would be very good for you, but your legs haven't been used in nearly a month. It's the first week of November. With your Veela blood, you should be able to recover soon, but I wouldn't suggest you go back to school unless you're fully recovered."

When Draco looked like he would protest, Hermione intercepted and with a smile, thanked the Healer. "I'm sure Draco would be _more than happy_ to follow your stipulations, Healer Grey."

Rolling his eyes at her high-handedness, Draco let it pass. "How long of a recovery period do you think I would need?"

"For your movement to be back to what it was, a week or two would be more than sufficient. I doubt it would even take you that long. During that time I think you should practice controlling your senses so you're not overwhelmed when you're back in Hogwarts. I of course will be at hand should you need any assistance, and I'm sure Ms. Granger would be willing to help," The Healer smiled.

The two nodded, Draco already thinking of ways to use this to his advantage before his stomach clenched in protest. Luckily enough, Narcissa called for lunch.

.

Lunch was a joyous affair, full of teasing and long looks between Hermione and Draco that Narcissa did not fail to notice. There was a bright flush on Hermione's cheeks that caused a glow to light her face. While they were still in Draco's room, he had managed to walk with only minor assistance to sit on the loveseat in front of the coffee table where there was a wide variety of food that just so happened to be his favourites spread out.

Narcissa had invited Severus to lunch knowing he had been concerned over the health of his godson. They were engaged in a conversation about what Draco's teachers had decided with the amount of work that he had to complete when the sound of her son's laughter reached their ears.

She was sure if she glanced their way she would see another flush on Hermione's face. "Draco!"

"You'd enjoy it, I'm sure," Draco laughed loudly.

Narcissa smiled.

Her world was right once again.

.

Deciding to offer the two privacy after lunch was finished, Narcissa excused herself and Severus, moving to escort the Potions Master to the floo as he had to return to Hogwarts to teach his afternoon classes.

Silence reigned between the two for a moment before Draco laughed. "I still can't believe you ranted about homework."

He found the blush on her cheeks highly amusing.

"I can smell your embarrassment," he teased, seeing her flush more.

'_Get out of my head Draco,'_ Hermione sing-songed when he tried to probe her thoughts.

'_But I want to see if you've been having any dirty fantasies of me to keep you company while I was asleep,'_ he replied.

"You live to frustrate me, don't you?" Hermione rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile. "I don't even know why I missed you in the first place."

"You may act like you didn't, but I know the truth Granger," he smirked. "I do remember some of the things that you said to me while I was unconscious."

A look of surprise fell upon her face. "You do?"

"I heard voices all the time, talking to me or talking around me. Sometimes I couldn't make out what was being said, especially during the beginning. But the voices got stronger, clearer. I knew you were there. You were always there." He told her honestly.

Hermione gazed at her lap for a moment before turning her body to face him. "You're right…I did miss you… Even before you were unconscious, I missed you, and that upset and confused me because I tried very hard not to. I was confused about how I felt and it all seemed to happen so fast."

"You don't seem confused now… You're here after all," he murmured, before giving her a small smile. "I do believe you even admitted to caring for me… so, let's hear it Granger."

Rolling her eyes, but feeling slightly less worried about his reaction or his rejection, she returned his smile. "I don't know if I should tell you – your ego is already too big."

"There are very few opinions that I care for, Hermione, and yours is one of them," Draco told her seriously.

Staring him straight in the eye and watching the emotions that danced within them, the petite witch took a deep breath before murmuring, "I love you, Draco."

She placed a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away, her heart soaring as he murmured, "It took you long enough. I love you too."

"I'm sorry I pushed you away, and I'm sorry I—"

He shook his head. "I heard your apologies, Granger, even before you thought I could hear them. I know you're sorry and I think, given the circumstances, you were entitled to one overthinking session. If it makes you feel better, I've forgiven you. What happened after our fight, and the two of us being _slightly _stubborn_…_ was not your fault."

They were quiet for a long moment, basking in each other's company as Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder when suddenly he remembered something.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, raising a single platinum brow, as he tossed an arm over her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes trying to seem annoyed, but the kiss she placed on his cheek did nothing to prove that. Staring him in the eyes, she smiled and murmured, "I was wrong, Draco."

"Of course you were," he smirked.

Another comfortable silence enveloped them before Hermione whispered, "The cheesecake the house elves make here is absolutely amazing."

.

**A/N:** Hope you all enjoyed that! As if I would ever kill Draco off. We all love him too much. I'll be out of town so it will take me a little longer to update but I promise I will when I can.

Until the next update.


	20. XVI

**A/N: **Yes, I know it's been a really long time, but before you kill me, I need to honestly admit what had happened. After I had written the last chapter, I was absolutely lost with what to do next. What I had planned and already had didn't seem up to par with what was there and lead to a dead plot. THEN my inspiration for Dramione stories had been distracted and what came out was lacklustre, so I dwindled in whatever attempts I made at writing.

But I'm back, and I've renewed my commitment to this story, because I've got fantastic readers and I've fallen in love with this piece of work.

Thank you for sticking along with me on this journey.

Charmed

.

Chapter 16:

.

_November 9, 1997_

_HG,_

_Thank you for your recommendation of potion as to what may help quicken the growth of eyebrows. Seamus had been of no help, and the other ones I had found grew them much too thick._

_I ended up with Marcus Flint's eyebrows for all of 2 days before I decided even no eyebrows were better than B's teasing. I rubbed the potion into my bangs and grew them out instead. I look much like R did in fifth year. It's positively dreadful, but I think I'm still much more pretty._

_Glad to hear D's up. Even R sends his well wishes, and I think it may not even have anything to do with the kick I gave his knee under the table. And don't for one minute think I believe any of your huffing about him complaining of your hovering. You wouldn't trade it for anything. _

_GW_

_PS. Have you messaged RK?_

_._

_November 9, 1997_

_HG,_

_I'm glad to hear DM is well. No more pity parties in the library!_

_HP_

_._

_November 9, 1997_

_BZ,_

_It literally feels like my legs have been jelly legs jinxed. I am currently walking no faster than Astoria Greengrass's ability to pass a coherent thought to her hair. At this point in time, I'd rather reach the speed of Goyle's reading capabilities._

_If I were you, mate, I'd never repeat the words, 'Even though she kind of looks like her brother, I still think she's beautiful.' Firstly, you sound like a slimy little creep, secondly that may be some form of incest, and thirdly, in what planet does bearing the resemblance of RW look remotely close to attractive?_

_You may be hoping for my speedy recovery, but I'm hoping for your speedy return of common sense and unimpaired vision._

_Always,  
DM_

_._

_November 9, 1997_

_HG,_

_I'd much appreciate if you stopped staring at your letters and come sit with me._

_DM_

_._

Hermione rolled her eyes at the last missive that arrived for her, and glanced up towards Draco who was at the other end of the table, biting a sandwich, an eyebrow raised in question.

"You know, you could have just asked me to sit there if you missed me," she chided, biting back a smile, pushing the incessant flutters away.

The other pale blond eyebrow rose as he responded, "Nowhere in that letter did I mention I missed your company, Granger. Don't get too full of yourself."

"Well, I suppose if you don't want me here I'll just –"

"Your rear, in that chair, Hermione," he nodded towards the seat beside him.

She plopped herself on the seat, "I still say you missed having my sole attention on you."

"I am a greedy bugger, now aren't I?" He batted his lashes. "But a right handsome one, you have to admit."

All she did was stare at him a moment, unwilling to give in and admit what would likely feed his already massive ego, though there was a knowing glint in his eyes as she asked, "Would you like to try a short stroll again?"

Hermione had known that it wouldn't be the physical recovery that was difficult, but the control issues Draco had, and his own expectations of his body's limitations. From what she'd learned about Draco through their numerous discussions together during his recovery, Lucius's shadow had quite literally covered and stifled him. He never blatantly said it, but did he even need to?

Draco may have been a whiney child, depending only on his father, but it was Lucius who had moulded Draco into craving his father's approval. Whatever failings Draco had, Lucius, she imagined, would have been quick to use and manipulate into a sick sort of punishment.

The first time Draco had fallen, his expression had been thunderous, and while he had accepted her offer for support, she couldn't help but notice the steely glaze that hardened his eyes.

It didn't come as a surprise to her when he cringed at the thought of another walk.

"Your hand," he told her resolutely.

"I beg your pardon?"

Brown eyes locked onto eyes like storm clouds, as his voice carried through the spacious room, "If we're going to walk, I want to hold your hand."

She took his hand in hers and nodded. "If you want my hand, it's yours."

.

_November 14, 1997_

_GW,_

_I'm so sorry to hear about what happened, but I'm sure B knew you hadn't meant to set his owl's tail feathers on fire. The candles would have certainly added a romantic feel, however I believe next time you should send your reply before lighting a candle, especially so close to any living creature. You tend to enter your own fantasy bubble, and forget about everything else going on around you._

_D's definitely walking much better. His progress is beyond exceptional, considering most people would still be wobbling about. I'm not sure whether I should credit it to his blood, or his sheer determination to get better._

_Tell B to stop messaging me for more cheesecake. I send him one slice and suddenly I've become his personal catering service._

_Hope to hear from you soon,_

_HG_

_._

_November 14, 1997_

_HG,_

_G's just relayed the news. While I don't think of you as a catering service per se, H, now that you mention it…_

_10 galleons per cheesecake?_

_BZ_

_._

_November 14, 1997_

_BZ,_

_I'd much appreciate you not pestering me with your latest cheesecake craving. Once was rather adorable. Twice was cute. This is the 10th owl of the day._

_HG_

_._

_November 14, 1997_

_HG,_

_What are you going to do? Send D after me?_

_BZ_

_._

Blaise was still smirking the very next day after having sent off his missive.

"You're in a bit of a cheerful mood, now aren't you?" Ginny asked.

He nodded and lifted her bangs off her face to peer at her eyebrows while she huffed. He gave her an encouraging, if not slightly amused smile. "How much longer until they're normal?"

"They're almost there. Hermione told me not to take too much each day because my eyebrows may return back to normal but too much of one of the main ingredients in the system all at once will turn my skin a delightful shade of orange."

The Slytherin was about to reply when an owl swooped in from nowhere, forcing him to untie a missive with a family seal of silver wax. He petted the owl once, smirking as it flew off, leaving the letter in his hands. Blaise had been looking forward to this since he'd sent his last letter off.

Ginny stared at him curiously, "Who's it from?"

He nodded to the crescent that sealed the envelope shut. "Malfoy family stationary."

Opening the letter, a loud banging sound could be heard, a cloud of silver and green smoke swirling in the air, forcing Ginny to take a step backwards from Blaise. Coughing, Blaise fanned the smoke away into the vacant hallway.

_Now you match._

_HG_

He lifted his head, a wrinkle on his forehead as he did so. He peered at Ginny who took one look at him before she threw her head back in peals of laughter.

"Ginny?"

Another tiny note fell from the envelope.

_Partner in crime, at your service._

_DM_

_PS. She's delightfully more Slytherin than she would like to admit._

Dreading the answer, he looked curiously at the redheaded witch in front of him.

"I don't know if you'd look good in bangs, but I have more than enough potion to share," Ginny told him seriously before bursting into laughter once again.

She didn't know what was more amusing: watching him trying to lift his eyebrows in alarm, or the dawning look of horror as he felt the smooth skin instead.

.

Malfoy Manor was quieting after a particularly trying day of working with Draco to help him and his movement. The burst of speed right before he collapsed meant there was still much to do in the morning, but Narcissa and Hermione were pleased at his progress, despite Draco's complaints it was going much too slow.

Healer Grey would be checking on his progress in a few days to decide whether more could be done for Draco's recovery.

Nightfall had quickly descended as it was want to do as the weather grew cooler.

The breeze outside Hermione's window was soothing, and the sounds of the house settling, which had at first made her uncomfortable due to very large nature of the estate, now seemed to relax her.

Try as she might however, the young woman just couldn't sleep.

There was an ache within her stomach that twisted agonizingly slow. Forcing her eyes shut, a flash of something hit her somewhere in the middle of her forehead.

Draco.

Coma.

Darkness.

Gasping for air, Hermione bolted upwards.

The house was much too quiet, much too calm. The breeze that floated by made no sound and left her cold.

Shoving off the covers of her bed, she flung her door open and ran into Draco's room.

Her eyes frantically adjusting to the lack of light, Hermione turned her face towards where she knew he should be laying. Heart thudding in her chest, pounding against her ribcage, she nearly collapsed in relief at the sight of him sitting upright with his arms crossed, back against his pillows.

"Close the door," he murmured softly.

When the door was shut, she turned to see him with his hand outstretched towards her.

Walking forward, she grasped it within both hands as an irrational need to lay her cheek upon his palm overtook her.

A thumb swept over her veins, as she sat at the edge of his overly large bed.

"Your heart is thundering, love." Again, the soft whispers of his voice melted like smooth honey into the night. "I felt you coming."

"I saw…" She bit her lip to keep the words from spilling out, as if holding them back would prevent it from ever happening again.

"You saw my dream, then," he told her. "My nightmare. I should have known."

The grimace on his face was telling.

"Draco…"

"I don't know why it happened. But it was like I was there again… in somewhere and nowhere all at once." He muttered darkly. "And it didn't kill me so much the first time… because I didn't know if you would ever come. But you did, and you're here… and then I was back in that hole of space where nothing exists."

She crawled towards him, the need inside her to comfort him taking hold. Laying her head against his chest, the beat within calming her heart. The warmth of him washed over her in waves.

"Nothing exists there Hermione. Everything and nothing all at once, like a void." He looked down at her. "I can't live in a place where you don't exist, Hermione."

In her heart she knew that his sentiments had nothing to do with their being mates and all to do with the boy who had become a man in his own right.

Tipping her chin up to meet his gaze, shining like moonlight. "Not when I've tasted an existence where we can both be happy together."

"I came here for you, Draco."

That very night, Hermione Granger knew she couldn't be in a place where Draco Malfoy didn't exist either.

.

The morning sunlight seeped through the cracks of the heavy drapery, and pulled Hermione from her slumber. Heat radiated from her side as she turned to face the body next to her.

Pale blonde hair fanned across ivory skin, the haughty cheekbones, and aristocratic nose all screamed Malfoy.

In the night, as they lay in his bed, they talked for hours and when silence over took, they were happy to just sit with each other's presence.

She had thought about allowing him to re-mark her, as a confirmation of what she felt for him, and as renewal of her faith with them. Complete faith now, unguarded in her belief that this was real. They weren't two separate things – his feelings for her as a Veela, and his feelings for her as a man, but neither were her feelings for both man, and Veela separate. They were one in the same.

Acceptance.

Love.

The tentative unfurling of it blooming within her, rampantly taking control of her heart.

She wanted to show him all of that… a re-marking to replace the first one. A mark full of certainty.

The night had been about expelling shadows, this morning it would be about love. She didn't want him thinking it was her comforting him, or misunderstanding her meaning.

Clear as the day, it would be about _them. _Together.

Suddenly she was staring into ice.

"You're awake," he murmured, his voice laced with sleep.

Running her hand over his cheek into hair of starlight, she nodded.

"I need to wake up like this more often," he told her, the smile on his face illuminating him.

"Draco…" she murmured, kissing him softly, before tilting her head to expose her neck and the mark on her pale skin.

He looked at her in question, hesitating to bring it from his lips.

"The first time… I never really understood what I felt, and I let doubt get in the way of that. I was a coward, and I ran because of my fear." She told him. "You still overwhelm me, but you're my equal. You can be possessive, yet you're vulnerable, and you can be arrogant, but you're honest, caring. There's so much more about you then I wanted to let myself see. You're Draco Malfoy. Being a Veela doesn't define you, it's only an aspect of what makes you Draco. I'm sure of how I feel now, I wanted you to know."

"Hermione…"

"I want you, Draco." The look in her eyes, and the conviction in her voice stole his breath. "I want us."

"I love you," Draco told her, watching her eyes widen with pleasure right before his lips descended to her exposed neck.

.

**A/N:** We're almost at the end but not quite. Are you all as happy as I am that Hermione finally woman'ed up and allowed herself to really fall? And yay, the three words I've been wanting to be said in a while. I hope you all enjoyed. Until next time.

Charmed


End file.
